We have seen a lack of knowledge regarding human speech. It seems that there is little evidence to support the view that all languages evolved from one or more proto-languages. There is, however, a more sensible explanation for the existence of the language families in the world today. This explanation is found directly in the book of Genesis.

If you’ve read Genesis 11:1-9, you’ll see that this is the moment in time where God created different languages. Why? Well, God’s plan wasn’t that the people would build a tower to attempt to make it to Heaven and so He became displeased with their actions. He noticed that if they could speak one language to get things done, nothing would be impossible for them, so He created different languages for those people and scattered them throughout the Earth. With that in place, it became pretty close to impossible for things to get done with the language barrier.

I find this very intriguing because this story is so much like our lives today. One moment you could be in line with God’s plan, and another moment you could be totally off course. Sometimes He puts things in our paths to help us get back on track, but when becoming so arrogant and self-centered, it often leads to a series of major struggles, Holy Spirit led guilt, and hurting times.

We might be tempted to think we no longer need to trust and obey God. We may fully believe our learning, sophistication and technology are all we need to be self-sufficient and guarantee our security in all things. The truth is, even with all of that, we still fall short of proper guidance and knowledge. The lesson of the Tower of Babel is that self-sufficiency is a delusion. History has shown that nations and their leaders have fallen into the trap of arrogance and self sufficiency. Like Babel, those nations have eventually ended up in ruins.

Maybe you’re reading this with full awareness that you’re not following the plan God has for you. Maybe you’ve dived deep in other things to try to give you guidance. Maybe you’re thinking that if you are aware of everything, you’ll be successful in all things because you feel in control. Maybe you dislike what God is telling you, so you are in a place of figuring things out yourself without help. Maybe you’re prideful and have a preconceived idea that if you ask for help you’re weak.

If any of those describe where you’re at right now, I want to encourage you to ask God to end it and give you something to grab ahold of to get back on track. God is the great provider and I’m 100% certain He will provide for you. When you come across trials, rebuke the idea that self-sufficiency is better. Your sufferings will turn into perseverance, your perseverance will turn into your character, and your character will lead back to the Hope we have in Him. Don’t let the flesh extinguish our drive to stay on the path God has for us.