(There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.)
According to this article posted on “The End of the American Dream,” [link follows]: https://endoftheamericandream.com/the-percentage-of-americans-that-believe-in-god-has-fallen-to-an-all-time-low/, the article’s focus is on the fact that belief in God has fallen quite markedly in the last few years.
The author, Michael Snyder, rightly points out that this belief in some sort of “Deity” is generally spread over a wide range of “gods,” as many people claim belief in God but do not acknowledge the One and only True God of the Bible.
That means the actual number of believers in the One True God is small indeed when compared to the overall population.
Any reliable building project is based on a solid foundation with true lines of “plumb” (vertical orientation) and “level” (horizontal orientation).
Any error or compromise in these two standards will result in distortion of the “building” and nightmares for both the builder and the eventual occupant.
For the sake of discussion, this article is based on “God” being the One and only True God of the Bible.
The answers that I will link to these “reasons” will not make any attempt to compromise or to avoid the possibility of “offending” anyone’s sensibilities. The reader is welcome to his/her own opinion.
A personal note: If you are easily offended, you may want to exercise caution in this life.
Being easily offended can harden into the malice of unforgiveness. It is like going through life wearing a backpack full of rocks that will drag you down at every turn. Slipping the straps and dropping the burden is your choice to make.
So, let’s consider a few reasons why (in my opinion) it may be that belief in God is at an all-time low, and at the same time, a few possible answers for them.
- How could a loving God allow all this evil?: For every evil act committed by humans, there exists a law prohibiting it, either God’s Law or human law (based on God’s Law in most cases), so we can stop pointing the finger at God right now. If laws were enforced and (true) justice dispensed, the implied condemnation of God in this argument could be seen for what it is: a smokescreen for humans to avoid taking responsibility for their own decisions made without regard to the council of God.
Blaming God for our own failings can lead to a hardening of heart so severe that it can result in salvation being beyond reach. God’s Word indicates what that would mean to the unbelieving person.
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
At some point in the very near future, God is going to deal with “all this evil.”
That is when Jesus Christ and your future will directly intersect, resulting in one of only two possible outcomes:
- Salvation and eternal life.
- Condemnation and an eternal living death.
- God never answers my prayers: There are typically two responses to prayer as most of us understand them: Immediate – yes or no, or Delayed. God does not answer to human concepts or constructs as to how prayer is answered. He moves in what humans have long called “mysterious ways.”
I don’t believe for a moment that His ways are “mysterious” except to humans. The One True God knows every single thought, attitude, and motive of the human heart, and He also knows every nanosecond of the future. His answers, or what may seem to be the lack of one, are made based on His own authority and wisdom. What is best for the individual (in the case of an individual request), or His creation in the broader sense, will always take precedence.
In every case, prayers must be in accordance with God’s Nature and Will.
More important, they must be compatible with His plans, both for you (if you will let Him) and His eternal purposes.
Over the course of my life, God prevented me from realizing many of my desires.
Turns out it was a blessing that I can now plainly see. MY plans would have resulted in mountains of misery for both me and for others.
About God not answering your prayer. Do you live in total disregard of Him every day of your life and then ask Him for answers only when you need (or want) something?
It’s a question that you may want to ask yourself, and in so doing, you may move closer to seeing your sinful nature as God sees it and respond accordingly.
These three verses from (Psalm 50) may help to make it clearer.
“For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you” (Verse 17).
“Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces,
with no one to rescue you” (Verse 22).
“He who sacrifices a thank offering honors Me, and to him who rights his way, I will show the salvation of God” (Verse 23).
Perspective: Unrepentant sin is viewed so seriously by God that He sacrificed His only Son that the death penalty required for it would be paid in full.
As you can see in verse 23 above, God is always willing to give you the gift of forgiveness if you “right your way” during your living years. Please see the Special message at the end of this article.
You have no doubt heard or seen the below well-known Bible verse before that contains so much in so few words:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
- Why did God allow me to suffer so much injustice or heartbreak in my life? This is a tough one, as it gets down to deep and personal internal emotions. Entire books have been written to try and answer this complex but common question.
Receiving Jesus as your personal and only Savior begins a wonderous process – the Gift of the indwelling of your heart and soul by the Holy Spirit of God.
And thus, begins one of the greatest of the many promises of God in His Word.
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13). Emphasis added by me.
What is a part of this “Truth” that begins your recovery? It is that no matter how much grief and strife you have had or maybe are still living under, there is always someone who has it worse. Always.
So, what is God doing for you when this happens?
He is lovingly putting His finger under your chin and tilting your face up and saying, ‘Look up to Me,’ and ‘Look outside yourself to clear your vision.’
This is not some fluffy platitude. It involves a change in attitude and results in a change in spiritual altitude.
I know from experience. I am not being condescending. I am speaking God’s Truth.
- Finally, for years there have been TV programs, movies, books, etc., about angels with fluffy human presentations of how they might act with humans.
On the other side, there are currently, by the same methodology, many presentations of Satan, The Devil and father of lies, as a lovable, misunderstood, well-intentioned, and harmless human-like character with little horns and a cute pointy tail who only wants to help people. This is a horrific lie.
God’s Word describes this tactic thusly:
“But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13).
So, the net result of all this subterfuge over decades is to subtly lure people to turn their attention away from the True and only God and turn to substitutes.
Either of these falsities are deadly-dangerous because they deflect from the Truth. Worse, they present people with a false, humanistic replacement for God that they can interpret in a way that they find “comfortable.”
It is like the man who, as a kindness, carries a poisonous snake across a river. When they reach the other side, the snake bites him. “‘You promised you would not harm me,’ the man cries.”
The snake replies, “Foolish man. You knew I was a snake when you picked me up.”
The Names of God and Jesus Christ have been used as curse words and common vulgarity everywhere we go. Even in a first-time conversation with a total stranger, I have heard the Name of God openly misused or mocked.
It has become a default condition with many people today, like a terrible habit that has seriously dangerous consequences.
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7).
This constant vulgarity and crude behavior result in a callousness that becomes “normal” and a steady denigration of the human spirit, making unbelief all the easier.
I once worked for a man who told me one day when I mentioned God, “Oh, well, I don’t believe in God,” as if his unbelief negated God.
Nothing negates God; He is from “Everlasting to Everlasting.”
Man cannot even leave a scuff mark on His floor.
So here we are at the very end of the end of days with God preparing to intervene in the world of humans in a way that will leave no room for doubting His existence to the God-hating secular humanists.
The unbelieving person may be inclined to say, “But I don’t hate God!”
“For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you” (Psalm 50:17).
It’s the same thing.
If you should happen to read this article, I would plead with you to open your eyes and your heart. While you still draw the breath of life, it is not too late to live with real Hope and the promise from Him of eternal life in His Son, Jesus.
The special message I promised you:
For anyone who may read this article and has not trusted in Jesus Christ and therefore has no hope or peace in your life.
You can have hope. You can have the peace that Jesus has promised to all who have made Him their Lord and Savior. The peace that passes understanding.
It requires that you come before God on His terms.
And, what are His terms according to His Word?
- Genuine repentance (turning to God instead of continuing to reject or ignore Him).
- Confession of sins (that you are a sinner and acknowledge that to God).
- That you understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
- To acknowledge to God that you are unable to pay that debt.
- Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross.
- To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion.
God has made it absolutely clear that there is no one who comes before Him, under His terms, that will be refused.
- No one: no race, no color, no country of origin, regardless of any previous belief system: no one.
- No matter what your past sins have been, God can and WILL forgive you because He says He will.
- Salvation is available to everyone without any exceptions.
If you put all your trust for salvation in Jesus, and Him only, you can follow that prayer up by simply saying, “Thank you, Father God, for hearing my prayer and saving me,” because we can trust Him to keep His Word. He always has. He always will.
“Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears My words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life” (John 5:24).
There are no answers and there is no hope in the world by governments, organizations, politics or politicians. There are only lies and deception. But you can have the Truth and the peace you seek.
The answers are in the Word of God–The Bible. If you ask God, with all your heart, He will hear you.
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
Pro Salvator Vigilans
To contact me: canoeman96@gmail.com