THE FOOL SAYS IN HIS HEART, THERE IS NO GOD: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts

The fool has said in his heart,

“There is no God.”

They are corrupt,

They have done abominable works,

There is none who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,

To see if there are any who understand, who seek God,

They have all turned aside,

They have together become corrupt;

There is none who does good,

No, not one.

Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,

Who set up my people as they eat bread,

And do not call on the Lord?

There they are in great fear,

For God is with the generation of the righteous.

You shame the counsel of the poor,

But the Lord is his refuge.

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!

When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people,

Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

(Psalm 14, NSV translation)

After I finished my breast cancer treatment in October, one of the commitments I made was to read the Bible in a year. I have only done it once before many years ago, and I felt like God wanted me to do it again. After three months, I am discovering many surprises I didn’t expect.

For example, I am further along in my walk with God now than when I read the entire Bible before. I know more, and I’m in a different place spiritually. Things jump out at me now that I’m sure I read through before without understanding the deeper meaning.

While I was accustomed to reading the Bible on an almost daily basis, I tended to read my favorite passages and those to which I felt drawn. I’ve rediscovered a vast treasure trove of books and stories and life lessons I either never knew or didn’t remember. How exciting it’s been to see the things God is showing me.

For example, Psalm 14, I used to wonder what it meant when it says in the above passage, “They have all turned aside. Together they have become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one.”

Is that really true? Does no one do good? Perhaps taking it out of context that would seem to be what God is saying, but put into proper context, I realize now this Psalm is apocalyptic. It’s referring to the time at the end of the tribulation when God’s people have been removed or put into a place of protection, and the earth-dwellers who remain are wicked and corrupt.

The last paragraph is especially gripping to me: “Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!  When the LORD restores His captive people…”

What is so amazing is that God restored the Jews to the land of Israel in unbelief, and David is crying out to God, “Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!” We know that salvation came out of Zion through the death and resurrection of Yeshua Hamashiach, the Messiah.

The Bible says in Zechariah 13:8-9: “It will come about in all the land,” declares the LORD, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; but the third will be left in it. And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”…

Because my salvation journey began in elementary school with some classmates who were almost all Jewish (I was jealous for their God), I’ve always had a passion to reach the Jews with the message that Yeshua is their Messiah. Many Jews are looking for Him, especially the mystics because they can read the signs and they know the Scriptures. They just don’t realize it is His second coming that’s on the horizon, not His first. I also believe that percentage-wise, more Jews will be saved than Gentiles in those last days. One-third of Israel, the Bible says, will come to know Yeshua as the Messiah shortly before His return. From what Psalm 14 says, it might be an even smaller percentage for the Gentiles.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” How many times have we heard that in the news? How many times have Christians been mocked? Even if the earth-dwellers don’t say it outwardly, we know them by their works. And it will get worse, but there is Good News.

“For God is with the righteous generation” – Whether that means God will protect the righteous in the last days or that they will be removed, I’m not sure, but I believe it indicates there will be a tremendous revival before His return. I am praying for the church to wake up and realize, the time is now.

God has spoken two things to me:  Be bold and share the Gospel. A sense of urgency speaks to my heart. I plan on writing more blog posts where I share my testimony and what God is teaching me. I hope readers will be encouraged to read the Bible each day, remembering that God has something to speak specifically to you and to me. Oh, that we would crave to hear His voice!

You can read more of Lorilyn Roberts’ blogposts at LorilynRoberts.com