A Final Experiment

First Ingredient

Acknowledge God

Allow God to Reveal Himself

I mentioned that I wasn’t going to quote many Bible verses unless they were useful as a general reference. But it’s interesting that the first four words in the Bible are, “In the beginning, God” (Genesis 1:1 NKJV). This is also where we need to begin.

Is there a God? If you can’t at least acknowledge God’s existence, you cannot move into a relationship with Him. Who He is will be an ongoing revelation after you have connected with Him. I believe every one of us falls into one of the three categories.

Atheist: Does Not Believe God Exists

From my experience, these people do not feel that there is any real evidence that God exists. They feel that God and religion are man-made institutions and ideas that were made to help explain our existence here on Earth. They also think that they are beliefs that help satisfy our need to know who we are, how we got here, and what our purpose is while we are here. An atheist’s basic philosophy is, “If God can’t be easily found, physically located, or measured in a scientific way, there is no proof that He exists.”

Although, I find it interesting that I also hear comments from atheists that go something like this: “I don’t really think there is a God or anything that’s in charge of this whole universe. But on the other hand, I’m sad to think that when I die, that’s it! We die, we get buried, worms get a free meal, and there is nothing more for us.”

Part of an atheists’ outlook is not being able to see a spiritual part of their lives (see John 4:24). Everything has to be seen, heard, or touched to be real. On the surface, this makes sense. If you think about it, it demands God to reveal Himself physically to us. Maybe, just maybe, that’s why God sent Jesus to Earth, but that’s down the road in another chapter. Atheists seek head knowledge of God because they will only believe if they can physically experience Him.

Instead, God is looking for a heart relationship with you. Even though we can’t explain exactly where it is, most of us feel that there is a place deep within us that we call our soul. Sometimes, it is referred to as the very core of our being. I would like to suggest that this inner part was made and reserved for one purpose: God’s Spirit. God’s Spirit is the only thing that can fill it. Maybe you have been trying all your life to fill it with other things or ideas that you thought would satisfy this void, but they haven’t. Maybe you should try to fill it with God.

How do you do this? In the preceding chapter, I addressed this topic called HOW (Honesty, Open-Minded, and Willingness). You can reread it now if that will help you. Or take a time-out and ask God to reveal Himself to you, maybe for the first time in your life. Then you can honestly acknowledge that He does exist (see John 5:40).

Agnostic: Not Sure If There Is a God or Not

This person is not sure if there is a God or not. On the one hand, it would make perfect sense for there to be a mastermind behind this whole universesomeone or something that set it in motion and that is still in charge.

On the other hand, you still have many questions. There are certain things that you need to know before you can acknowledge God’s existence or accept His authority in your life. Here is a short list of some of those unanswered topics:

dinosaurs, fossils, diseases, human suffering, UFOs, aliens, evolution, life on other planets, the Big Bang theory, ghosts. the Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, controversial social issues, other religious beliefs

Did I miss something else that you must have an answer to before you can believe in God’s existence?

If you cannot look into God’s existence until you have a satisfactory answer to one or more of these topics, think about this: the chances are that you will die before you get any kind of satisfactory answer to any of these. The point is, you’re stuck on something that may or may not matter in the long run.

I am a believer in God’s existence. I have a connection with Him through my prayer of salvation, and I still can’t answer most of these questions. What you will get on the other side of this salvation experience is a comfort that God knows the answers. These topics don’t have anything to do with having a relationship with Him. You won’t care if any of these topics are answered. You will have many new questions about heaven and life after death, which will be answered.

I think most agnostics have this position: “I’m not against there being a God. But if He exists, I will allow Him to reveal Himself to me.” That’s interesting. You will allow Him? Aren’t you trying to play God? So is He God or are you God? I think this might be a key point in your being able to move aside your demands to have answers and allow Him to do things His way for you, and see what happens. God cannot be in charge if you are.

This may be a good place for a time-out and for you to work the HOW into your prayer. Ask God to reveal Himself in your heart and let you know He’s there cheering you on.