The Futility of Godless Thinking

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Romans 1:18-21).

From the moment of man's fall, the human mind has been distanced from God and clouded by what the Bible calls "futile thinking".

"The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile" (Psalm 94:11).

"So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking" (Ephesians 4:17).

The word "futile" in the original Greek has the meaning of becoming "void of result" or "useless". It is this handicap of mental "futility" that requires that God reveal himself supernaturally. No matter how long we may study or how cleverly we may philosophize, we will never reach a true understanding of God through our own mental resources.

The Bible describes man's heart as "deceitful above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9). This means that outside the scope of God's revelation, your heart will trick you and deceive you into thinking that all is OK, when it is not. In its most depraved state, man's heart will turn truth upside down, calling darkness light and light darkness (Isaiah 5:20). The Bible tells us, without pulling any punches, that man's mind, unaided by God's Spirit, is incapable of understanding or even comprehending God.

"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).

So what does this mean practically. It means that if you are to know God, you are in need of a revelation of God by God. Only God can reveal Himself to you. And the way that He has chosen to do this is through His Word. Now it’s important to understand that God’s Word is not the only place where God reveals Himself. God often and effectively reveals Himself through:

• Nature
  

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,..." (Psalm 19:1-4).

• Experiences

"My ears had heard of You
but now my eyes have seen You" (Job 42:5).

Yet both these revelations of God are incomplete. Nature does reveal God's "invisible qualities" - just enough so that "men are without excuse" - but it is a distorted lens. Because creation is presently under the curse of man's sin (Genesis 3:17-19; Romans 8:19-22), the message we get through the natural world is mixed and sometimes contradictory. It is true that the majestic peaks of a mighty mountain range reveal something of God's splendor and majesty, but what of a devastating earthquake? How many people have railed against God because of a so-called "act of God" - a natural disaster that has brought grief and ruin to themselves, their family or their friends?

Likewise, while it is true that when we come close to God, we begin to experience his glory and goodness, our experiences themselves cannot be the sole lens through which we view God. Experiences are subjective, and a poor measure of God's nature. How should we react when something bad occurs? What happens when a loved one dies suddenly, a spouse chests, or a time of great personal distress is endured? Experiences, if unsupported by scriptural truth, can also be a distorted lens.

This leaves but one way for us to obtain a clear, undistorted image of what God is really like. If you are to see a clear image of God, He must reveal himself to you. And the only undistorted lens through which we can view God with clarity is His Word.

"As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is My Word that goes out from My mouth:
It will not return to Me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11).

This passage describes what happens when God speaks into adverse circumstances. You cannot separate God’s Word from God’s will. God’s Word is both an expression of His will and also a vehicle of His will. When God sends His Word into our lives, that Word will fulfill the purpose for which it was sent.

"I will bow down toward Your holy temple
and will praise Your name
for Your love and Your faithfulness,
for You have exalted above all things
Your name and Your word" (Psalm 138:2).

The Lord and His Word are inextricably linked. Both are exalted. Both are powerful. Both are eternal. I am lifting you up in prayer as I type these words and I am asking our Abba Father to reveal Himself to you and for Him to send His Word into your life today, tomorrow & always. <3