Making God’s Thoughts My Thoughts
“My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8-9).
When this is read, we often talk about how different God and man are. God's thoughts are far above man’s thoughts, and God's capacity is far above man's capacity. To be sure, there are thoughts of God too wonderful, too majestic, too big for us to encompass. But, that’s not what this is about. It’s not supposed to be that way. When man's ways are not God's ways, he is in trouble and needs to forsake that thought and return to the Lord.
It’s disturbing to be content with the notion that our thoughts and our ways are not God's, as though it does not make much difference. That is the mark of a person who is not acceptable to God.
It is an appeal to seek the Lord while He may be found. This was said to people who were wicked people. They were wicked because their thoughts were not God's thoughts, and their ways were not God's ways. This is talking about a basic understanding of what it takes to be an acceptable person to the Lord.
God’s thoughts can be my thoughts by bringing every thought in submission to Him (2 Cor. 10:3-6). God intends, by the very nature of submission, to have every thought in submission. We can't submit ourselves to God or be servants until every thought has been brought into obedience to Him. That’s the difference between being a wicked person and being a righteous person. Bringing every thought into obedience will make us more like Him; righteous and holy.
God’s thoughts can be my thoughts by having the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5). Look also at words that characterize that mind in verses 1-4. You will have love, one accord, and one mind. There will be no selfish ambition or conceit, only humility. Those are all conditions of the mind. The very idea defined here, is that people maturing as Christians have a specific kind of mind. That mind is not different from the mind of God. These people are continuing to develop having a mind of Christ. That’s His appeal.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Would God say to Christ, “My thoughts are not your thoughts”? No. They had one mind. Christians ought to be of one mind with one another because we learn the truth of God. We are with one mind joined together in the truth, and we therefore have one mind with God. Our thoughts are His thoughts.
God’s thoughts can be my thoughts by listening to His word (1 Cor. 2:11-16). We don’t know what God approves of or what His mind is, except by revelation. The apostles revealed the thoughts of Christ so that we might have them.
God’s thoughts can be my thoughts by approving what He approves and calling excellent what He calls excellent (Phil. 1:9-11). Things that God declares to be excellent, we learn from Him and put the same assessment on things that He does. By this, our minds have been changed.
When we read Isaiah 55, “My thoughts are not your thoughts,” it’s a tremendous negative assessment of people. He urges them to forsake their course. Don't continue on a course where God's thoughts are not yours. Correspondingly, when God’s thoughts become my thoughts, His ways will be my ways. Our actions will follow our thinking.
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