"Then they were willing to take Him on board the boat, and immediately the boat reached the [shore of the] land to which they were going." ~ John 6:21 AMP

I was 16 years old, a new driver, and newly saved about a year or so. I was so deeply in-love with Jesus, and passionate about building my relationship with Him. When my parents didn't feel like going to Wednesday night services - our church was approximately 45 minutes away - they would allow me to drive the family minivan to Wednesday night Youth Group. All I wanted was to be with Him, to learn more and more about Him, and to fellowship with other young believers to talk about all of His wondrous works.

So on one particular Wednesday night, I did just that. I drove to Wednesday night Youth Group and enjoyed a marvelous time. After Youth Group ended, I remember heading to the family minivan. I remember being all alone in a huge, dark parking lot ... walking and whispering prayers to God. I vaguely remember getting into the vehicle and driving down the church driveway towards the main road. I continued to whisper prayers to God in the car. Those whispers must have somehow transitioned to worship. The next part of this story is difficult to explain because it is unclear yet it's clear. I don't know if I was awake or asleep. I don't know if I was in a fog or if I was clear. I only know that I must have been completely caught up because at some point I "came to" and I was somehow on the highway... about halfway home. I didn't know how I had gotten there. I had not driven down the road that leads to the highway. I had not taken the exit to the highway. I had not seen a stop sign or a stoplight. The last time I had seen another vehicle was in the church parking lot. I literally don't know how I had gotten there. The only way that I can describe it is as if I blacked out.

The even crazier part is that you would think that I would then be jolted back to reality and that I would be wide awake and hyper-vigilant the rest of the way home. But, for whatever reason, I wasn't. I don't know how to explain it. It was almost as if I had no concern about driving and was too caught up to even think about it. I was completely consumed. My mind was not here. I don't even know if my spirit or my body was here. I don't know what took place or how I was transported. The next time I "came to" is when I was turning right from the main road onto my street. I was puzzled. "How did I get here?" But I was in a state of such peace. I then remember parking in front of our townhouse and just pausing for a moment before I got out. I just sat there for a moment...puzzled. I remember whispering something along the lines of, "God, I don't know how I got home! What happened?"

I never told a soul about the experience until many years later. I do not know the length of time it took for me to get home because I never looked at the clock. But I do know that it felt like only a few moments; almost immediate. I questioned God a few more times that night, and I remember Him showing me a vision of myself in the family minivan inside of a cloud. I interpreted that to mean that I was caught up in a cloud of glory. (The Old Testament is filled with references to clouds and glory.) 

Some may find my testimony to be spooky, or maybe even fallacious, but this was in fact and indeed my actual experience. I later found scripture to support my experience when I read of the experience of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12. There, in verses 1 - 4 of the Amplified version, Paul said, 

"...I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise..."

Paul was also "caught up" in worship. He wasn't sure if he was in his body or out of it. This is very similar to how I felt. I did not know if I was in my body driving the vehicle, and I did not know if I was out of my body worshipping in glory. I simply did not know. But, like Paul, "I do know that I was caught up" (verse 4).

In the Book of Acts, Chapter 8, verses 39 - 40, we are told of the Apostle Philip who was preaching to an Ethiopian eunuch in the desert in Gaza. Upon hearing the Gospel of Christ, the eunuch decided to be baptized and so Philip obliged as soon as they came upon some water. When they arose from the water the scripture says that "the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus..." (King James Version). Again, here is another instance of a believer completely caught up in worship and then transported to another location. 

I found yet another confirmation of my experience in scripture in John 6:21, which states, "Then they were willing to take Him on board the boat, and immediately the boat reached the [shore of the] land to which they were going."  This correlated to my own experience in that their vessel reached their destination immediately, just as I felt mine did.

I have heard of "close encounters of the third kind" where humans have supposedly experienced interactions with alien lifeforms. I have always been skeptical of these so-called events and remain so because I see no scripture to support alien life forms on other planets. So having experienced my own "close encounter of the Jesus kind", I had to find scripture to back it up to make sure that one day, whenever the Lord would release me to share it, my testimony wouldn't be interpreted as some sort of carnal or sensationalist or prideful or even occultic story. My heart needs and wants this experience to be fully supported by scripture so that God can get all of the glory. My heart needs and wants this experience to be fully supported by scripture so that someone somewhere can be encouraged to know that worship can take you beyond whatever it is that you are experiencing. My heart needs and wants this experience to be fully supported by scripture so that someone somewhere can know that God is calling the ordinary into the extraordinary and that He longs to give you supernatural encounters with Him. It has now been 31 years since that night, and I know that I know that I know that I have had this actual experience with The Creator of the world; and that the pattern of it is supported by the infallible Word of God. I leave it up to the Spirit of God now to bear witness of it to all of you.

Have you ever had a sensational experience with Christ? One that gives Him all of the glory? If you have had a supernatural encounter with God, ask Him to help you to find scripture to support your experience. That's integral to your testimony. Once you are able to find supporting scriptures, wait on God to release you to share it. Once you do, you'll be surprised how God may use it to impact many hearts along your journey. Blessings to you, loved one.