“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.” (Romans 1:28)
I believe that this is one of the most frightening passages in Scripture. As part of His judgment on wickedness, the Lord chooses to give us over to our desires. When we refuse to retain what we know and understand about God and reject it for what we desire instead; we find ourselves in this reality.
Sin is deceitful. It clouds our judgement, it impairs our senses and it blinds us to the potential consequences of our actions. Fortunately, as believers we have the Holy Spirit within us to provide us with conviction when we sin. However, when we choose to head in a direction that rejects that conviction; He is under no obligation to continually warn us again and again. In fact, according to this verse, there seems to come a point at which choosing our own way leads the Lord to hand us over to our choices. He allows our minds to become depraved and allows us to continue in a pattern and a life style that is harmful to us. I believe that this is so we can ultimately reach rock bottom in our sins and hopefully come to our senses and repent.
Holy Spirit, please continue to do your work in my heart in conviction. I cannot afford to reject Your gentle prodding. The price is too high. I cannot afford to be turned over to my desires and left to my choices. Make me hyper-sensitive to even the smallest prodding of Your Spirit. Amen.
