The thing about an encounter with God, or with someone speaking powerfully for God, or with something that seems to come directly from God, is that it is what it is. It displaces other thought. It takes the place of whatever was in your mind beforehand, and then it is what is there afterward. It may answer the question you have been asking, or it may raise a question. It may appear to relate directly to what is going on, or it may seem unrelated – that is, it may affirm the subject or it may change the subject.

When you really become aware, the event is already over, going away faster than you can deal with, and you are already trying to hold on to it or figure out what happened.

The most important thing to ask is, “Was this the God of the universe, or was it some other kind of encounter?”