And Their Foolish Hearts Were Darkened...Romans 1

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

I read the rest of Romans 1 today and continued on to finish Romans 2. This verse stood out to me in Romans 1...²¹ because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (emphasis mine)

Paul is saying here that we as fallen, unsaved human beings are without excuse and even though we know that there is a God from our own conscience as well as the evidence of creation, some of us (well okay..many of us)  will suppress that truth and refuse to honor God as God.  Why?  Because we like darkness more than light. We love our sin more than we love God. Eventually God gives us over to our own desires and we become futile in our thoughts and our hearts are darkened. He lets us have our own way! Our own way! Isn't that what we want sometimes even as believers? SIGH! What we should want is for our lives to glorify Him...for His desires to be our desires. Sanctification takes time and is not completed until we meet Him face to face.

God's wrath comes in different forms....the one we see here in this verse is the wrath of abandonment...being left to have your own way. Not a good thing...its way leads to death.  God is a gentlemen and will never force His will on anyone.  As believers God does not abandon us...in fact He never leaves or forsakes us, He is faithful even when we are not, He chastens every son whom He receives and the Bible is clear if we are without chastening then we are not sons...We are His and no one...not even ourselves...can snatch us from His hand. There are times when He might remove His hand for a time if we are not walking with Him and have turned to our own way...these are consequences of not drawing near to Him...but always His cords will be there gently tugging at our hearts to come back...sometimes His ways of drawing us back will not be so gentle but always it is His goodness and His desire for us to have His best.

With that said the application for me here that came to mind was how often my mind during the day especially when I am involved in a trial becomes darkened by lies from the enemy.  Wanting my own way is when my own foolish heart become darkened...I still at times think this way even after walking with the Lord for more than 15 years...and I think this way more than once or twice during the course of a day.  Lord, I deserve this...why are you doing this...why are you taking things away that are so very precious to me? 

When this happens I need to make a conscious effort to speak the truth to my heart...God's truth...the only truth.  If I don't my thoughts spiral downward and I feed on the wrong things.  You know what I mean..when you say things like..."I can't do this any more or this is just too hard" or "I can't believe so and so did that to me" or you become anxious and old sinful methods of dealing with the anxiety start to show themselves. Proverbs 23:7 says "As a man thinks in His heart so he is." I like to refer to these as "shadows" that darken my thinking and my mind and block His light from shining through...The Bible tells us also that out of the heart spring the issues of life and that because of this we are to keep our heart with all diligence.

What should I do when these shadows fall...when Satan attempts to get a foothold into my thinking...STOP speaking or thinking whatever it is you are thinking...Pride will make you want to continue but resist the devil and he will flee from you, draw near to God and He will draw near to you...humble yourself and instead either out loud (this is best) or in your heart speak words of faith...words of truth...replace those wrong thoughts, motives or desires with the right ones that will glorify God.  Ask Him to place His desires on your heart and make them your own.  As we make this a practice in our day to day lives we begin to walk by faith and not by sight and as we do that God pours out His grace. Trials bring the darkness of our heart...the secret things...the things God does not want there anymore to the surface.  They (trials) show us what we truly value and/or what we are placing our trust in. It is helpful to remember that He only removes those things that will hinder our walk with Him or cause us harm and yet still they are so very difficult at times to surrender. Why?  Because they are comfortable and familiar..they are things we like, habits we enjoy but have now become idols in our hearts. As He removes the darkness from my heart there is then more room for His light to shine. And as believers that IS REALLY WHAT WE WANT! That is really what brings peace...living for Him and setting our mind on the things above.  Wanting what He wants is not just obedient or self-sacrificingly noble, but it is what's best for us. He is not some cosmic ogre imposing His will to satisfy His whim, but because His will is ultimately what is best for us.  God uses His word most often to bring these things to our awareness to show us the condition of our heart. Hebrews 4:12 says "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. "  . Psalm 139 also comes to mind...really the whole thing but particularly the last few verses:

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
         Try me, and know my anxieties;
 ²⁴ And see if there is any wicked way in me,
         And lead me in the way everlasting.

Girls...making a regular practice of humbling yourself and seeing your sin as God sees it. This will reap blessing upon blessing in your lives.  It will prevent your hearts from becoming hardened and your conscience's seared.  It is also one of the most difficult things for us humans to do...Push past the difficulty and His grace will be there.  Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up!

Love you all very much,
Mom who definitely lived this one today...