Sacred Trembling: Divine Encounters

Daniel 10:11 “And he said to me, "O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.” 

In this section, we will discuss the phenomenon of people trembling as they encounter the power of the Holy Spirit. The trembling we are referring to here should not be confused with natural trembling caused by nervousness or physical afflictions. As we will see, there is only one type of manifestation in this area:

• People trembling in the Spirit.

The above passage of scripture describes Daniel’s physical response to the power of the angel standing before him. As we can see, Daniel’s body was trembling. To tremble means to quiver involuntarily. If you read the context of this passage, there can be no doubt that Daniel was fearful during this angelic encounter, and his trembling was directly linked to his fear in this supernatural experience. The same passage describes his colleagues as being terrified and hiding, even though they couldn’t see anything.

The scripture states that as believers, we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). From this account, we can clearly see that when believers tremble before the Lord, it is directly linked to our reverential fear of Him and His power.

Acts 9:5-6 “And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads."  (6)  So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The above passage of scripture describes Paul’s physical response to encountering the power of the Lord Jesus. As we can see, Paul’s body was trembling, and if you read the context of the passage, there can be no doubt that Paul was fearful during this encounter with the Lord. Later in his life, Paul recounts how his colleagues were also fearful at the time, even though they couldn’t see anything (Acts 22:9). The scripture states that as believers, we are to serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling (Psalm 2:11). From both of these accounts, we can clearly see that believers tremble as a result of their reverential fear of the Lord when they encounter the power of the Holy Spirit.

Psalms 119:120 “My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.”

The one person who fully understands what it means to have reverential fear of God is our Lord Jesus Christ. We must never forget that when Jesus came to earth, He came as a man and, as such, experienced all that we experience. Psalm 119 is a prophetic account given to us in scripture, in which the Lord describes various aspects of His walk as a man on earth. In the above passage, our Lord tells us how His flesh trembled in fear of God the Father. If the spotless Lamb of God could tremble before the Lord, how much more should His saints tremble when they encounter the power of the Almighty God?

As for the saints, we need to remember that all our encounters with the Holy Spirit take place in the realm of the spirit. Therefore, it is the spirit of the believer that displays reverential fear for God, causing their body to tremble. Very often, because believers' minds are still carnal in their reasoning, they have no idea, in the natural, why they are trembling.

Job 4:12-15 “Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it.  (13)  In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, (14) Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.  (15) Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair on my body stood up.”

The passage above describes one of Job’s friends experiencing an encounter with a demonic spirit and reacting with fear and trembling. It is possible for immature believers, who may not yet understand their authority in Christ, to have similar encounters with demonic spirits and tremble in fear. However, this phenomenon will not occur in a Christian gathering, as the spiritual light and presence of the Holy Spirit are far too strong for any demonic spirit to manifest in such a way. Therefore, believers will not begin trembling in a Christian meeting due to the influence of a demonic power.

This leads us to the topic of people pretending to tremble in the Spirit. Such behaviour is not typically imitated in the flesh, as trembling in the Spirit is a response to the fear of the Lord coming upon an individual. The flesh, which does not possess a reverential fear of God, has no inclination to mimic this behaviour.

Michael E.B. Maher

Holy Spirit Encounters

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