Thursday February 21

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalm 14:1

Satan … struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head … Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks.” Job 2:7, 9-10

When a Believer Acts Like an Atheist

The worldview of naturalism is uncomplicated: It simply leaves God out of every equation. As we view the world, naturalism declares, “There is no God. What you see is what you get.” Our origin is purely evolutionary; morality is whatever we agree it should be; the meaning of life depends on the best we can make of it; and mankind is the measure of all things. In contrast, we who believe the Bible and the God whom it reveals would firmly reject the claim that there is no God. Our faith rests in a righteous, loving, and saving God, and those who live by that faith have never been ashamed.

However, many of God’s followers are infected with practical atheism. Job’s wife did not say, “There is no God,” yet her response to Job’s trouble was just like what the “foolish women” would have said. Essentially, she believed in God but stopped there. She completely left God out of the equation when it came to her assessment of daily life. The goodness and righteousness of God, along with His sovereignty and His honor, were of no consequence to her.

Do we say we believe in God and then leave Him out of our daily thoughts? If He is our Lord, where then is His honor? If He is our Father, where is our trust in Him? The mindset of the Christian should keep God in the front of our thoughts, not the back. “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms” (Jas. 5:13). We must believe not only that there is a God but also that He has a perspective about every joy, every sorrow, and every opportunity we experience.

Stephen Campbell