For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counseler?
Romans 11:34
Let’s ask ourselves this question: from where have we gotten our concept of God? Think about this sincerely and honestly.
We are all shaped by our backgrounds and our upbringing. Some people have come out of good homes with solid teaching. Some have come through horrific trauma or rejection. Some have struggled to be free of tyranny – even in the church. All of us are susceptible to having our view of God affected by these things.
But what if we could come to Him with an open heart, ready to have Him reveal Himself to us for who He really is . . . without all these preconceived ideas?
This would mean we make a conscious decision to lay aside all the unbiblical notions we had drilled into us, and we cry out to Him with a heart that wants to know the truth and nothing but the truth. When we ask Him such things in true sincerity, He will answer. Always.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
John 14:13-14
Being willing for God to shape our own concept of Him can be a hard thing to do at times. It means that we must be willing to submit our heart, will, and emotions to what we find in Scripture. It might mean that we must change our way of life.
But who is more able to reveal truth than the One who authored it? Who is more able to heal a heart than the One who created it and knows every intricate detail of it?
So many believers are getting their ideas of God and knowledge of Him from someone else. These can be good ideas and concepts, and it just seems easier to the listener to accept these ideas presented without truly searching them out. And it is true that we do need our brethren to help us understand God deeper and see Him personified in our daily lives. But we shouldn’t do it with blind trust.
Some of these ideas can also contain error and in some cases, can even be presented in a way that resembles abuse. This is not only sad, but hugely detrimental to a person’s concept of God. Their view of God was skewed from the start.
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men.
Isaiah 29:13
Our fear of God should be taught by Him – for He knows the right way to do it. So this is a challenge to us all: are we willing to lay aside the ill-conceived concepts we knew before and open the Word to see what He will show us about Himself?
We pray that hearts are soft and ready for God to show them who He is through His Word.
We believe in the inerrancy and sufficiency of the Scriptures. Jesus said, “Thy Word is truth.” And so we not only believe it, we also base our worldview upon it.