I think we would all have to agree that none of us likes to be called names. Each of us would have to admit that we like to be highly esteemed in one-way or another, for one thing or another. And most definitely nobody likes to be called a fool, amen? But the Bible speaks of the fool quite often. As we read the first sentence in verse one of Psalm 14, according to the psalm writer, what do foolish people fail to recognize?
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
Yes, its true - foolish people fall extremely short of their awareness of God! Are you a foolish person? What direction is your heart taking these days? Is there any area of your life where you are failing to acknowledge the Lord? As we continue to read the sum of Psalm 14: 1-4, we’ll find a list of certain characterizations that belong to those who fail to do so…
Psalm 14:1-4 (KJV)
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they
have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. [2] The Lord
looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were
any that did understand, and seek God. [3] They are all gone aside, they
are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not
one. [4] Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my
people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord.
Ladies, having shunned the very existence of the Most High, we then face the beginning point of our corruption. When we do not seek Him wholeheartedly our wickedness is set in motion. It is then that we begin to live filthy lives crammed with sin and immorality. I can personally attest to that in my own life. As I look back on the times that I have fallen into sin, I was not seeking after the Lord - He was not in all my thoughts. I had turned aside to my own ways, and I was a fool. Those who do not suitably acknowledge the Lord do not suitably acknowledge God’s people; they mistreat Christians and consume them with their mockery. Perhaps you have ridiculed someone you know who was diligently seeking after God or persecuted a group of people that strives to live according to the Bible. The fool also does not call upon the Lord for anything, including the saving of their soul - the biggest mistake we could ever make in life! The only conclusion we can come to in regard to mankind is the same that God has declared: there is no human being who understands the goodness of God nor seeks after salvation. We all have gone aside. Hence, when we don't seek the Lord, we leave off His judgment. And when we have no judgment in our goings, we end up walking down a crooked and turbulent path. It is a chosen course that is not accompanied with peace…
Isaiah 59:8 (KJV)
The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings:
they have made them CROOKED paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know
peace.
God would have men and women to seek after Him that He might lead us beside the still waters, that He might fill our hearts, minds, and lives with peace. That's what life can be like when the Lord is our Shepherd! If our lives are not peaceful today, we have no one to blame but ourselves. If you’ve been a stranger to peace, you’ve been a stranger to God. How can you blame the Lord for all your troubles when you failed to acknowledge Him at the start?
Deut. 32:5 (KJV)
They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children:
they are a perverse and CROOKED generation.
In looking back on your life since salvation, is it a maze of zig-zags? Are things still crooked today? Got a few warped places that you know need to be straightened out? No doubt you can look back at the beginning of certain situations and realize now that what led you there was your foolishness in not seeking the Lord initially! Would you say there is an atheistic essence to your testimony as a believer? Ladies, we’ve got to be careful about turning aside and following after the devil, for He is a crooked creature and the god of crooked lives...
Isaiah 27:1 (KJV)
In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish
leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that CROOKED serpent; and
he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
Only God can straighten your life out for you today! Your situation can improve only as you seek after Him. The Lord is waiting to do that very thing for you - will you let Him? Our Creator specializes in unbending crooked things and crooked places. Why not begin with your heart - why don't you turn TO the Lord instead of AWAY from Him? He must do all the leading if you really want to see things progress in the right direction. If you truly want to experience the Lord’s help, you're going to have to stop behaving as if there were no God!
Isaiah 42:16 (KJV)
And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them
in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them,
and CROOKED things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not
forsake them.
Isaiah 45:2 (KJV)
I will go before thee, and make the CROOKED places straight: I will break
in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
Ladies, God takes pity upon our blindness and will come along side us and help us to walk on the right path – paths we have not known and cannot know without Him! Our future can be different today if we would but turn to the Lord and trust Him for the solutions to our problems. Cry out to the Lord like the psalmist did...
Psalm 5:8 (KJV)
Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy
way straight before my face.
Let's not be fools; let's not live as if we had no God - we do!! We have a mighty God who will steer us clear of things that block us from living holy, prosperous, peaceful, and joyful lives. No more zig-zagging! A fool wanders, but a wise man travels with God. If you've been living up till now like there is no God, stop living a lie and live the truth instead. Like it or not, he who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who trusts in God will be directed away from crooked design!
Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
[6] In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2004
