A: in one sentence, a spiritual high is a state of mind in which you go through a spiritual experience and are "living off" of that feeling. It's not authentic and not sustainable. As a person leaves the spiritual experience, the feeling dwindles and that "high" has dissipated.
The Pros of a Spiritual High:
Not that many. It is not something that I would encourage as it is not real and does not provide any edification to the church or yourself as a Christian.
- provides some type of connection with God and may encourage one to seek a deeper, authentic relationship with Him.
The Cons of a Spiritual High:
- a "high" insinuates that there will be a low. Because the spiritual high is not based on an authentic relationship with Christ, that low will inevitable come
- the "high" is not reflective of a true authentic relationship with Christ, although it may seem to be. Therefore, as said before, there is nothing to sustain this high.
You are right to assume that these spiritual highs occur during events such as SNA, TC or a Fellowship Retreat. It's when nothing is distracting you and you can focus on God. But when you come back to "regular" life, those distractions are there and it is hard to keep that high when there are things around us.
I encourage discernment when it comes to your experiences with conferences and events. These highs are not indicative of your spiritual status. They are sometimes deceiving and need to be seen as what they truly are.
Hope this helps a little...come to SNA on December 12th 2009 @ 6:45pm!
[answered by Pastor KJT]
