I awoke feeling weighed down by the cares of this world...seemingly impossible situations with no apparent way out. Gripped with fear, I began to pray in the Spirit and heard “My thoughts are not your thoughts…those are not My thoughts!”
I immediately went to Isaiah 55!
‘Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
“For you will go out with joy
And be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.“Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up, and instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up, and it will be a memorial to the Lord, for an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.” [Isaiah 55:6-13]
If my thoughts do not agree with His thoughts, His Word, I need to FORSAKE THEM! Renew my mind and put on the new self, created in righteousness and holiness of the truth!
‘…that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.’ [Ephesians 4:22-24]
God instructs the wicked to forsake his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts…wait a minute! I’m not the unrighteous, I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ! [2 Corinthians 5:21]
But if I’m not thinking His thoughts, I am thinking like unrighteous, wicked and unregenerate man!
Paul said when we are fleshly, we walk as mere men! [1 Corinthians 3:3]
We are NOT mere men but ‘…born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring Word of God. [1 Peter 1:23]
Strengthened with ALL MIRACLE WORKING POWER [Colossians 1:11].
When we think thoughts that are not HIs thoughts, we come down to the level of mere, unrighteous men. Not someone who is One Spirit with the Lord, not The Word multiplied!
That’s when we need to take every though captive to the obedience of Christ! [2 Corinthians 10:5] His obedience paid every debt, healed every disease, cleansed us from ALL unrighteousness and made us the righteousness of God in Him! We were crucified with Him, buried with Him in baptism, raised up together with Him and seated with Him in heavenly places! [Colossians 2, Ephesians 2].
‘But by HIS DOING you are IN Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,’ [1 Corinthians 1:30]
This was God’s doing…and Christ’s obedience made it so. His obedience redeemed us from the curse of the Law and made every promise of God YES to us! We died and Christ now lives in us…one Spirit with the Lord! If our thoughts don’t agree with the finished work of Jesus Christ, they are not God’s thoughts!
‘…knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.’ [Romans 6:6]
‘Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on A tree”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.’ [Galatians 3:13,14]
’…as He is, so also are we in this world.’ [1 John 4:17]
‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.’ [1 Corinthians 3:16]
So what we to do?
Mediate on HIs precious and magnificent promises.
‘Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.’ [2 Peter 1:2-4]
‘’And do not be conformed to this world, but be TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is GOOD and ACCEPTABLE and PERFECT.’ [Romans 12:2]
‘Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
'Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. [Philippians 4:4-8]
‘“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate [hagah—moan, growl, utter, speak, muse] on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”’ [Joshua 1:8]
‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.’
[Proverbs 3:5,6]
Renew your mind to think God’s thoughts. Understand what the will of God is for every one of His sons and daughters…
‘Beloved, I pray that in ALL RESPECTS you may PROSPER and BE IN GOOD HEALTH, JUST AS YOUR SOUL PROSPERS.’ [3 John 2]
Our mind, our thoughts, are in our soul. Forsake your thoughts and renew them with God’s thoughts and prosper in your soul!
One of HIs thoughts is that every promise of His is YES in Him …one of our thoughts is ’sometimes the answer is no…’
‘For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are YES; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.’ [2 Corinthians 1:20-22]
‘...but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’
[1 Corinthians 15:57]
Forsake your thoughts and think God’s thoughts. He has given you the Mind of Christ!
Bless Yourself
Be like Jabez…
‘Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!” AND GOD GRANTED HIM WHAT HE REQUESTED.’ [1 Chronicles 4:10]
‘So [it shall be] that he who INVOKES A BLESSING ON HIMSELF IN THE LAND SHALL DO BY SAYING, MAY THE GOD OF TRUTH AND FIDELITY [THE AMEN] BLESS ME; and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth and faithfulness to His promises [the Amen], because the former troubles are forgotten and because they are hidden from My eyes.’ [Isaiah 65:16 AMPC]
Why would He do any of that? ‘…because the former troubles are forgotten and because they are hidden from My eyes.’
Psalm 103:12 says He has removed our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west. Because He sees only Jesus in us, not our old crucified, dead and buried selves!
He IS the God of truth and faithfulness to His promises…THE AMEN. And Revelation 3:14 tells us that JESUS is THE AMEN!
One of God’s thoughts is that we are One Spirit with the Lord…heirs of God and fellow or joint heirs with Christ. Another is that He has filled us with His very own Spirit, and that with Him all things are possible.
A couple of our thoughts are that God is watching from a distance and that He might not deliver us this time...
So train yourself to catch those unrighteous, negative thoughts as soon as you notice them…here’s a hint: if you feel fear, dread, anxiety, worry or depression, you are NOT thinking God’s thoughts. Go immediately to His Word and meditate on His wonderful promises. If you can’t think of any, go to Psalm 3, 20-23, 25, 27 34-37 or 91. Or 103 or 107.
And don’t get too hung up on who the promise was given to initially and whether or not you qualify…
‘“I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” [Luke 7:28]
That means Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon…NO ONE greater than John the Baptist except for the lowliest born-again child of God. Even me—that’s one of His thoughts.
‘‘For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are YES; therefore also through Him is our AMEN to the glory of God through us.’ [2 Corinthians 1:20]
His Ways
AND GET THIS…this is right off the wire! Not only are these His thoughts, but He also SAID THEM. Just like He SAID ‘Light be’ and light was, in Genesis 1! Just like HIs promise that a Child would be given, a Savior born. AND JESUS IS THE WORD OF GOD, and we are The Word multiplied.
‘“So will My Word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will NOT return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”’ [Isaiah 55:11]
That IS His way...Jesus demonstrates it throughout His ministry and then told us to do it, too! Speak to mountains and trees and money and sick bodies! That is THE way the world works...all things were made by and for Him, and He IS The WORD!
Our way is to call things that are what they are, in the natural, without any hope of being able to change anything. NOT God’s way.
‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.’
[Proverbs 18:21]
So think His thoughts—be transformed by the renewing of your mind—and do things His way. Bless yourself in the earth by His already-answered-yes promises!
‘“Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.“Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.“The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have given waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert,To give drink to My chosen people.
“The people whom I formed for Myself
Will declare My praise.”’ [Isaiah 43:18-21]
Hallelujah!
Related posts: Think Like God, Think Like God 2, Think Like Jesus