Figure it Out

 March 24, 2021

“Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD...for my thoughts are. not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.” —Isaiah 55:7-8

How often I’ve tried to figure things out, to make wise decisions, choices that make sense to me, but which ultimately were not of God. If I come up with an idea, I can be pretty sure it’s my own thoughts, not God’s. One of the ways I know God is speaking to me is when the idea that pops into my head is the exact opposite of what I would normally do. An idea that is counterintuitive has a good chance of being from the Lord. I need to listen to those thoughts which contradict my natural inclinations.

The problem is, my thoughts are MY thoughts, so deeply ingrained that they are my default. Changing this requires constant vigilance and regular repentance and confession. The Scriptures are full of encouragement and exhortation to repent and confess our sins, not only at the moment of conversion, but also throughout our daily life. When James tells us to “confess your faults to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed,” I think he is speaking about not only the healing of the body, but the healing of the soul and mind as well. As I said yesterday, not only must I forsake my old ways, but also my old thoughts, if I am to find healing from the habits and life patterns that are so natural and so destructive. 

Thankfully, when we confess our sins, as John tells us, “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” —1 John 1:9