The Thoughts of the Lord
Oh, how we boast about who we are and what we know—until we come into the presence of the living God! It is there that we realize, once again, that we are only fallen flesh and blood, just like everyone else! If anything is different about us, it is because of the gracious work of God in our lives—not because of what we have done or any special knowledge that we possess. In the words of the apostle Paul, who heard the voice of Jesus speaking to him from heaven, “If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” (1 Corinthians 8:2-3, NKJV)
Does it even really matter so much what we think? Or should we be seeking with all our hearts what God thinks, namely the mind of Christ? King Solomon suggests that we walk softly before God, and be careful about what we say:
Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven and you are on earth,
so let your words be few.
(Ecclesiastes 5:2)
Proverbs 10:19 (NKJV) offers the same advice: “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” Sometimes it is better just to be quiet and listen, then to fill the air with our words. God does not despise our thoughts, or the desires of our hearts, but as Isaiah prophesied in chapter 55, verse 9, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Mediterranean Sea from Israel
King David, a man after God’s own heart, declared in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” Some people would call David narrow-minded but, in fact, his eyes had been opened to see the greatest treasure of all. Therefore, he cried out to the Lord,
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake, I am still with you.
(Psalm 139:17-18)
Will we remain satisfied with our own thoughts and ideas, or do we long to understand what God thinks? Will our hearts be content with earthly things, or do we long for the things of heaven? Do we long for days of heaven upon earth, for that is what revival truly is!
Oh that the Lord would grant us a heart of wisdom to understand how little we know, and how much we still have to learn! As a dear missionary friend once declared, and I am sure many other experienced believers have said the same, “The older I get, the more I realize how little I know!” The Christian who is certain that he or she knows everything is an immature Christian. The more we grow up in Christ, the more we will understand that the Christian life is not about mastering a body of knowledge, or even about achieving a level of self-sufficiency. The Christian life is about learning to walk in a continual, growing dependence on Jesus Christ. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5, emphasis added)