Can We Find God Through Reasoning?

There have been many people that have found the truth through a deep investigation into the existence of God. Most of those enquiries have been motivated by trying to disprove the existence of God and the inaccuracy of the Bible. As I write this, the words of an old praise song, grounded in God’s word, comes to mind. “Not by might. Not by power. But by my Spirit saith the Lord”. It is the Spirit of God that draws us to the Lord. All our efforts cannot overcome the great demand of the law. I was reading a quote this evening that said, “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.” With all his efforts to find the truth, sifting through all the foolishness of the world, he finds that he is no further ahead than the ones who trusted in God alone. Our search for the truth will always take us to the same place... the feet of God. If I was visiting London and ended up at Buckingham Palace, I would never dream of telling the guards that I have come to visit the king. How foolish to think that a simple man like me would have something to offer the king. Likewise, if we are desiring to grow in our faith, we are not in a position to demand anything from God. If I showed God a list of my accomplishments as proof that He needed to do for me what I ask, He would look at me with love in His eyes and say, “My dear child, I am not here to meet all your earthly desires. I have set you free to live your faith out fully”. However, when I come before God with a deep desire to know and follow Him, it is there that I experience His presence. I don’t believe anyone has experienced true intimacy with God through human reasoning, although reasoning that is submitted to the Holy Spirit teaches us all that we need to know. Experiencing this intimacy isn’t necessarily a warm fuzzy feeling, but an unwavering faith that believes God will do what He promises, even in the midst of a storm. Many relationships end because the feelings deceive us, but God’s word will never fail. Trust in Him. Father, even when I don’t feel Your presence, help me to believe all that You have promised. Your word and promises never fail. Amen