Physical sensation: the Holy Spirit?

[Jenster]

I hope this is OK to ask about in this forum, but I wanted to check with believers who perhaps are more mature.

I have recently started having some physical experiences that feel like a coldness in my limbs and maybe my back. I've also had some extreme anxiety this month, but I think it's getting better. Still, I wonder if the sensations could be the Holy Spirit? I don't come from a charismatic faith tradition, so this kind of experience is unusual for me. I acknowledge that the Lord could be trying to tell me something about a certain area of my life ... but I also find it hard to discern His voice versus my voice. The sensations do come when I have God in mind or am praying. They don't just happen as I'm walking down the street, for example.

Thank you for any discernment you may offer, or any stories of your own experiences.

 

[Godsproperty777]

I have had different sensations like a pressure of a hand on my shoulder or leg. I normally go to the concordance and look up all the verses in the Bible that relate to the area.

Example: For about two weeks I had felt a pressure on my right hip at night when sleeping, I finally looked up "hip" and found that Ezekiel and fasted for 40 days on his right hip/side. I took that as the Holy Spirit instructing me to fast.

I had never fasted before, however, I did and fasted for the entire 40 days on liquids (soy milk and protien powder shakes). I had seven very powerful dreams during that time.

That is how I handle of the physical manifestations or sensations, i go to the word and look at what it says about those areas.

Hope this helps.
Blessings

 

[Jenster]

Thank you, Godsproperty! I will try to find verses in Scripture that relate to the sensations I've been feeling. I sure appreciate your reply. God bless you.

 

[ahzmort]

i come from a charismatic background, but am pulling away from it more & more. i'd say 1st, anxiety is not a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. anxiety is usually an uncontrolled worry, & worrying is not of God. i suffered for many years with bad anxiety & can still be prone to moments of it.
also, at least in my experiences (& those of others i have talked to on it) 'coldness' is not a common feeling from the Spirit, it is actually more commonly a warmth people feel. all the 'spiritual' experiences i've heard of 'coldness' actually revolve around demons.
Now let me note, i am not saying that i think it IS demons for sure. My suggestion is go to a doctor 1st, to ensure there isn't a physical problem. But it could be a possibility that these are spiritual attacks since they seem to occur when you're in prayer. for many years i was attacked spiritually whenever i tried to read/prayer regularly. not so much during the actual time of prayer, but my life in general would always become very difficult. i got to the point where, for many years, i was afraid to read/prayer on a regular basis because things always got so bad for me when i did. i've recently started up again & getting some victory over sins in my life & last night i had the worst anxiety attack i've had in over a year. i almost skipped my bible reading time over it, but i didn't & read anyways. now today, i'm better.
but fear, anxiety are definately not from the Spirit & i doubt coldness is either. Hopefully you found something helpful in all this rambling.

 

[stormdancer0]

I have to agree with ahzmort to a point. Make sure it isn't something medical.

I will tell you that seldom will an experience with God leave you worried or anxious. Even when God has directly corrected me, I have been left with the peace and joy of knowing that God cares enough about me personally to step in.

But do not discount totally the idea that it may be God. I would suggest finding a prayer support group and asking them to pray for guidance. Our group at our church is very discerning, and can detect attacks of the enemy fairly quickly. Call around and see if you can find a spirit-filled church that has a women's prayer group.

It's okay to have questions. I have only been in the Charismatic movement for under 5 years. I've found that whenever you feel like you have God figured out, He'll show you He works in an infinite number of ways, and usually no two experiences are exactly alike. He deals with each of His children in the way that particular child needs.

 

[whatfor]

I have had various feelings that I know were God, but not as you described.
I have heard of demons being present causing a cold feeling, but am not saying this is the case.
I agree with stormdancer0s advice.

 

[Jeshu]

I hope this is OK to ask about in this forum, but I wanted to check with believers who perhaps are more mature.

I have recently started having some physical experiences that feel like a coldness in my limbs and maybe my back. I've also had some extreme anxiety this month, but I think it's getting better. Still, I wonder if the sensations could be the Holy Spirit? I don't come from a charismatic faith tradition, so this kind of experience is unusual for me. I acknowledge that the Lord could be trying to tell me something about a certain area of my life ... but I also find it hard to discern His voice versus my voice. The sensations do come when I have God in mind or am praying. They don't just happen as I'm walking down the street, for example.

Thank you for any discernment you may offer, or any stories of your own experiences.

I found The Word spoken in The Spirit of love for God, yourself and your neighbour is the only Voice we may heed.

Our emotions have been severely damaged by sinful life in and around us and cannot be trusted to speak right about Good or Bad. Neither any voices demanding that we do or requesting must can be trusted to speak The Word truthfully. Rather iI found that our emotions speaking biblical instructions to us are mainly our imagination and what is worse often contain many anti-christ spirits - such as fear and worry. (1 John 3)

The Truth tells us that flesh cannot be trusted but that only faith in Christ speaks truthfully about God's love and brings true hope - The Living Word - all other voices, ideas, theories, dogmas or whatever speak at best in part about God's truth - but usually contain anti-Christ teachings - which always focus on you or other - and do not Know The Living Word whatsoever.

I wish you God's speed in finding His Voice Alive within.


Oh Lamb of God!

I know for sure that Your Voice is You!
For The Living Word within is true
Right within my soul Your Spirit dwells
About God's Kingdom Your love tells.

Forgiving love is wonderful within
For it surely does away with sin.
Bringing thankfulness alive
Bringing an end to all my inner strife.

Keep teaching me The Way to go
Living Waters through me to flow.
A heart praising God each Day anew
His loving Word that ugly Dragon slew.

Slowly day after day You take me in
Onhigh with You and all God's kin
Praising Father for only He is good.
His loving Truth my constant food.

More and more The TRUTH reveals
As The Lamb of God opens all the seals
Angels beside themselves with glee
God's amazing Salvation I may see!

Oh Lamb of God - You alone I praise!
Oh Your loving truth bringing Grace!
Without Your Word I could not have known
What Your love in me has sown!

 

[tturt]

On hearing His voice, you might want to ask Him the answers to questions and then check your accuracy as a way to progress in that area. One exercise from How to Hear from God in a Noisy World is to ask Yahweh what the next traffic light will be and you can easily check yourself for accuracy. Some people don't like the idea. They're entitled to their opinions but I wanted to learn His voice.

 

[papaJP]

Physical feelings that are normally experienced that are God controlled do not lead us into doubts or cause any form of anxiety. Many want to claim that physical feeling are from God. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit and the feelings are helping you to be closer to God you will know the truth. However, many allow emotion to override the truth in Spiritual physical experiences. The deeper you become in your faith and walk with God the surer you will be that it is God and not yourself or something else.

 

[ses20042002]

when i spend time in soaking my body trembles.He is looking for those that can yield and present ur body a living sacrifice. To walk with Him like Enoch is so so special esp. for the intercessors. 2011 and beyond is going to be a trip!!

 

[stormdancer0]

when i spend time in soaking my body trembles.He is looking for those that can yield and present ur body a living sacrifice. To walk with Him like Enoch is so so special esp. for the intercessors. 2011 and beyond is going to be a trip!!

Isn't that the best experience in the world?!?!

 

[Jeshu]

Isn't that the best experience in the world?!?!

Without trying to deny you your experiences, and please do not misunderstand me but I have a dire word of warning for those who think feeling good is the best in the world.

There was a time that I gloried in God through my feeling world, as a bipolar person my moods go very high and to sing praises and make commitments in my highs I used to love to do.

I knew The good feelings came from Jesus for they were all linked to my faith in Him. In my highs I used to be so full of love that it almost hurt and I would feel so much pride in Him that I could know Him like this and He would love me so much.

However then One Day The Lord walked in Truth into my life, and I saw the One who died to give me existence - Rev 1 - all the Joy at meeting Him like that burst my old life apart like A Big Bang - and I was about to find out the hard way that New Wine doesn't fit into old wine skins.

10 years of desolation came my way after that great Day, when The Truth robbed me of all my treasures in Him and I the one who had prided in my faith and had made so many commitments to Jesus was left behind a barren desert - talking about Rapture!:o

from those 10 years of madness 7 years of deepest depression - 15 months of those severely suicidally depressed - all my good feelings were gone and I couldn't feel my faith any more either after awhile - and so I pined away a miserable sinner and perished the fool I had been trusting my feelings to tell me about right and wrong.

it wasn't until after my Armageddon was past that I understood that in all my service to Jesus I had had very little compassion on the ill, weak and sinful inside of myself - and that I had locked-up all my so called sinner selves - and that I had numbered all things in and outside of my heart either good or bad and that I had oppressed unbelief and doubt in me but had never gone to God a doubtful unbelieving person and that now I was totally over run by all that.

Down in the pit after 7 years falling I finally I understood that faith is indeed a gift of God and that all my decisions to do good where no good when done in self-righteousness or pride or any other unclean spirit ruling and that I truly had ruled my inner being like a tyrant and not lovingly at all.

I was even horrified when I saw Jesus release all my inner prisoners and set them free to be who I really was - and I was even more horrified when my legalistic thinking self was bombarded by his own jugdements and perished miserably in the persecution on all that had life in religious dogma within me.

The real trouble in my inner being was that to love myself - a sinner I had never thought of doing - I despised and hated my 'sinful and fleshly needs self' - so all my religious zeal ended-up being unfocussed and of the mark to say the least - For Jesus came down for us while we were still sinners and loved us though we were steeped in sin, such had not been the motivation inside my heart in serving God though - rather the opposite - so in effect anti-Christ like spirit had been control of my faith life.

After that false prophet came out in the open...

I saw that it was my big ego that had had control over my life, I had served God so well for I knew it would bring me His Good and not because I loved being like Him, a truthfully loving person - rather I was prideful, arrogant and judgmental when I was like that - and so Jesus cut The Son of Lawlessness out of me and I learned to have faith in God even when deepest down in the bottomless pit and understood He loved me even while depression raged inside of me and brought me utter desolation and terrible torture of heart and mind.

It took me years to understand that this is what I had brought down on my Lord being a person who heeded his feelings and not someone who truly heeded The Word of God spoken in the Spirit of Love for God, self and other at all - The Living Word within.

once I repented from that my depression took a turn for better and my evil voices stopped screaming and His Peace has finally been restored in my heart.

I will never pride in anyone but Jesus when it comes to my Salvation though, and never trust my feelings to say it right, or think anything of it more than The word warns about, I will most certainly not make any more decisions based on my feeling world - rather God's Word spoken in love for God, self and neighbor I trust to lead The Way.


The New Wine?

Indeed brothers and sisters it is good - and please do enjoy Jesus a lot - He is also King over our feelings - but praise Him in true faith, love and hope (and use New Wine-skins) and not simply through good feelings, they so easily sweep us of our feet and make us focus all wrongly on The Son of God, thinking lofty thoughts while He lays hurting death on the bottom of our sinful lives.




Peace.

 

[Jenster]

I wanted to thank you all for replying to my post. You've given me a lot to think and pray about. I really appreciate it. God bless!

 

[ablevr]

What an inturesting thread, I love it! I enjoy hearing people ponder the things of God. I can only tell you how recieving the gift of tounges was for me. It was some time way back in 1972. I had never heard about speaking in tounges before. I was about 15 and had given my life to Christ about a year before. I did have a very deep prayer life for a 15 year old. I think it was alot because I had a very troubled life and I really talked allot to the Lord about it. I had noticed that when I would pray that words would come to me that didn't make since. Every once in a while one would slip out and I would since something about what I spoke. It was like they were more then words and they came from deeper places then my head. I got to where I wanted to whisper them over and over. Then one day I heard some kids were talking about speaking in tounges. So I went to my pastor and asked him what speaking in tounges was and he was caught off guard a bit and said well we don't do that there. He was kind enough to send me down the street to a pastor who's churhc did believe in it and he told me what it ment and gave me scriptures for it. Silly girl i was I went back to my pastor and asked him why he didn't believe in it?

After I got older I asked the Lord why it happened that way, because I had been lead to believe I had gotten my prayer language the wrong way. I picked up a book a few days later on fasting and when i read about the author he said that he got the holy spirit without knowing what he had recieved too. That quickly put my heart to rest and I became aware that I recieved my prayer language at that time in my life because God knew just what I needed at that time. Because times I was so hurt and confused I simply didn't have the words to pray... so He gave them to me.

I believe God cares for each of us as individuals. I believe the gift of tounges is given when God sees fit in the way He chooses to do so. I know some wonderful Christians who do not speak in tounges. Did God over look them? No, and their lives are proof of that. He is a loving Father and so there is no reason we can't ask for what we want.

 

[MoNiCa4316]

Here is something I read many times.

Whenever we experience the Holy Spirit, during the experience we might feel extreme contrition, humility, even difficulty or fear.. but afterwards, there is great peace. Often, if we are open to God, during the encounter with God there is great peace and joy as well. But ALWAYS afterwards.

When we encounter the evil spirit, we might feel a lot of excitement, etc, during it, but afterwards there is always sadness, a general sense of guilt, disappointment, etc...

when we experience something medical, it does not produce any spiritual effect in us and is only physical.

 

[childofGod31]

Here is something I read many times.

Whenever we experience the Holy Spirit, during the experience we might feel extreme contrition, humility, even difficulty or fear.. but afterwards, there is great peace. Often, if we are open to God, during the encounter with God there is great peace and joy as well. But ALWAYS afterwards.

When we encounter the evil spirit, we might feel a lot of excitement, etc, during it, but afterwards there is always sadness, a general sense of guilt, disappointment, etc...

when we experience something medical, it does not produce any spiritual effect in us and is only physical.

I don't think the above applies to all situations. But only to some.

Here is something that applies to some other group of people:

Guilt comes to people usually when they experience something they were taught was bad somehow. If they were not trained that it was bad, they would not feel the guilt. So guilt is NOT a result of people doing something wrong necessarily. Guild is a result of people doing something they THINK might be wrong.

So if the Holy Spirit sends a feeling to somebody who was taught that such feelings are wrong, then the person would feel guilty about it. Even though the feeling came from the Holy Spirit.

(A baptist might feel guilty about speaking in tongues because some of them are taught that it's not of God.)

New experiences from the Holy Spirit might leave people in confusion. And so they might not feel peace. That's why some people post on forums about their new experiences and ask people about how they should feel about them. Because they were not trained about it one way or the other. So they are not sure whether they should feel peace or confusion and fear about it.


Whether you feel peace or joy or fear or confusion depends on how much you know about the experience and how much you accept it as "the right thing".

 

[Jeshu]

I don't think the above applies to all situations. But only to some.

Here is something that applies to some other group of people:

Guilt comes to people usually when they experience something they were taught was bad somehow. If they were not trained that it was bad, they would not feel the guilt. So guilt is NOT a result of people doing something wrong necessarily. Guild is a result of people doing something they THINK might be wrong.

So if the Holy Spirit sends a feeling to somebody who was taught that such feelings are wrong, then the person would feel guilty about it. Even though the feeling came from the Holy Spirit.

(A baptist might feel guilty about speaking in tongues because some of them are taught that it's not of God.)

New experiences from the Holy Spirit might leave people in confusion. And so they might not feel peace. That's why some people post on forums about their new experiences and ask people about how they should feel about them. Because they were not trained about it one way or the other. So they are not sure whether they should feel peace or confusion and fear about it.


Whether you feel peace or joy or fear or confusion depends on how much you know about the experience and how much you accept it as "the right thing".

Amen

It is worse than this - our guilty conscious is the place where Satan has his throne as The Accuser from where he rules over us when we have fallen for the temptress. Which is that unfaithful harlot in our flesh birthing Satan's lies within us, who kills all our God given life in us - and robs God's Good for herself and her beloved pet with in us - our big selfish ego - her slave son to be - from where the one doomed to destruction within us gets his name(2 Thess 2)

Honestly brothers and sisters the tongue speaking within us - who points to the other in accusation - is the beam in our eye and the reign of Satan within us - this is just as true as our own unfaithful ego heeding the harlot's direction along the broad path that leads to death reveals the son of lawlessness within us.

All such life within us anti-Christ to be in essence of being - assigned to the flames for ever!!!

A crystal clear conscious is a conscious who has tasted Christ's Salvation and is dressed in white robes - no longer entangled with this world and its affairs - for them the Great Feast in Heaven is going full board.

To walk with Jesus over the crystal sea means that Heaven and Earth become as one plane - The Truth and The Life He is - for God's glory shines over the whole earth as His Loving Truth encircles us all!(Is 6, Ez 1, Rev 4, 21-22)

In our lives of lies we cannot see God's glory but are stuck with our own lives and destined six foot deep shortly.:o:o:o It is best to be well aware of this!

So plainly we need Jesus to cross the great divide - we have to be freed from the rule of the conscious - Rev 12-19 free in His Loving Truth to be - Rev 20 - Free to be whom The Father wants us to B(b)e, and not someone else - but true C(c)hild of His to be!)

Peace.

 

[SoldierOfSoul]

I have had feelings before that I know were from God and other times I have gotten feelings that I wasn't so sure about. I know though that there have been times in worship (I go to a Pentecostal church by the way) that I have truly sensed the holiness of God and at the same time my complete sinfulness and unworthiness and I also know that at these times I have felt such a tremendous groaning (the only word that can come close to explaining) in my spirit for the living God that I would be hunched over in adoration and fear (a holy fear) of the Lord.

This sense of the holiness of God would come over me and I would be in tears (crying my eyes out) and then out of this I would have such a deep groaning from the center of my being (in my stomach) to where I knew without a doubt that I had experienced God at least in a minor way, so yes I do believe that God gives His children feelings, but we should not live for them. Waiting for the next spiritual high is a bad way to try to live the Christian life and can lead to doubt and depression, we should only base our faith on the promises of the Word of God not on feelings we have or will feel.

 

[Jeshu]

I have had feelings before that I know were from God and other times I have gotten feelings that I wasn't so sure about. I know though that there have been times in worship (I go to a Pentecostal church by the way) that I have truly sensed the holiness of God and at the same time my complete sinfulness and unworthiness and I also know that at these times I have felt such a tremendous groaning (the only word that can come close to explaining) in my spirit for the living God that I would be hunched over in adoration and fear (a holy fear) of the Lord.

This sense of the holiness of God would come over me and I would be in tears (crying my eyes out) and then out of this I would have such a deep groaning from the center of my being (in my stomach) to where I knew without a doubt that I had experienced God at least in a minor way, so yes I do believe that God gives His children feelings, but we should not live for them. Waiting for the next spiritual high is a bad way to try to live the Christian life and can lead to doubt and depression, we should only base our faith on the promises of the Word of God not on feelings we have or will feel.

Indeed He is as you say He is - only Jesus can bring us before God's Throne - Through The Truth and in The Spirit of Love for God, ourself and other - The Living Word comes down to picks us up for a visit with Dad.

He comes as The Word reveals in Matthew 24, 2 Thess 2, Revelation 4, Daniel 12 or Isaiah 64 and so many more yet...

Indeed The Truth has 12 gates through which He can enter The New Jerusalem - The Zion where our God and all His Holy Ones dwell - where all believers find their birth.

 

[kimmiemae]

Anxiety can manifest itself in many ways. You've heard doctors say that stress does things to the body. Your blood flow may be restricted to your extremities. This sounds like a circulatory problem.
ALSO,
I have been healed of around a dozen issues and some diagnosed, but they really were spiritual. When I applied James Chapter 5 to my life these issues cleared up over a month or two. I found out that unforgiveness is also a big area.

Read James chapter 5 for some insight. Pray and see where God leads you. May you be healed in Jesus name.