Thoughts - 1

“My thoughts are completely different from yours,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”
Isaiah 55:8 NLT

Why, I wondered, are God’s thoughts so different from ours if we are ‘made in His image”? The verse goes on to say, “My ways are higher than your ways.” God’s thoughts are so different from ours firstly because our thoughts have been tainted by sin, but secondly and more importantly, because He is God and we are not! He sees the overall picture – we do not.

This is why we often have difficulty understanding or coming to terms with His word. We believe it is truth but sometimes when His word doesn’t line up with our experience or expectations of what a great, all powerful God should do and when He should do it, we try to explain why, or we decide that He’s not “on our case” so we take matters into our own hands.

It is because God’s thoughts and ways are so different from ours that He has to say to us, “Trust me”. Proverbs 3 verses 5 & 6 says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” God says we are not to trust in or rely upon our own understanding because our understanding is limited – we don’t see the big picture as God does.

It brings much joy to the Father’s heart when we will trust Him, even when we don’t understand, even when things happen that seem incomprehensible, even when our prayers aren’t answered in our time frame. But can we do this? I believe we can if we set our mind to please our Father. We can say, “I trust you Lord but help me when I doubt. Strengthen me to stop when I want to take matters into my own hands.” Our heavenly Father can be trusted with our lives and the lives of our loved ones. He is the One who does all things well, the One who will “perfect that which concerns us” (Psalm 138:8)

Man’s ways would have kept Joseph from many years of unjust slavery and imprisonment in Egypt; man’s ways would have delivered David from the hands of King Saul’s persecution many years before it happened; man’s ways would have kept Daniel out of the lions’ den; man’s ways would have kept Jesus from such an unjust trial and horrible death, but in each case God had a higher purpose. For Joseph it was that he might be the one to save his nation from starvation; for David it was the character development of a shepherd boy turned soldier who was destined for the king’s throne; for Daniel it was to show God’s power and raise him to a greater position of authority and to get done with his opposers once and for all; for Jesus it was to fulfil the very purpose for which He came to earth – the salvation of mankind.

Prayer: Heavenly Father forgive me when I find it hard to believe that you want the best for me. Please give me patience to trust you and faith to believe that you will act in my best interests, perfecting that which concerns me. Amen