Isaiah 55:6-9
6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
This passage starts with a call to "seek the Lord" (verse 6) and to repent. It is interesting that the call to repentance includes a change in both actions, "let the wicked forsake his way" and thoughts "the unrighteous man his thoughts" (verse 7). It is easy to focus on the obvious sin of certain actions, but the actions are rooted in our thoughts. If we simply control our actions without changing our thoughts, we have not completed the process of repentance and recovery. For example, if I fantasize about having an affair but do not actually do it, that is only a partial victory. It is certainly good that I didn't do the behavior, but God wants to change my thoughts and desires too, and until that change occurs I am at risk of acting out the fantasy. Verses 8 and 9 point to one of the keys to achieving victory in the thought life, and that is learning to trust God. Our thoughts are usually about what we "wish" we had, thinking that fulfilling that desire will make us happy. But we can't see the big picture; only God knows what is truly best for us. God's way's and thoughts are higher than ours (verse 9), and if we can learn to trust God's ways and thoughts, then our ways and thoughts will become more like His.
Lord, Your ways and thoughts are indeed much greater and better than mine.
6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
This passage starts with a call to "seek the Lord" (verse 6) and to repent. It is interesting that the call to repentance includes a change in both actions, "let the wicked forsake his way" and thoughts "the unrighteous man his thoughts" (verse 7). It is easy to focus on the obvious sin of certain actions, but the actions are rooted in our thoughts. If we simply control our actions without changing our thoughts, we have not completed the process of repentance and recovery. For example, if I fantasize about having an affair but do not actually do it, that is only a partial victory. It is certainly good that I didn't do the behavior, but God wants to change my thoughts and desires too, and until that change occurs I am at risk of acting out the fantasy. Verses 8 and 9 point to one of the keys to achieving victory in the thought life, and that is learning to trust God. Our thoughts are usually about what we "wish" we had, thinking that fulfilling that desire will make us happy. But we can't see the big picture; only God knows what is truly best for us. God's way's and thoughts are higher than ours (verse 9), and if we can learn to trust God's ways and thoughts, then our ways and thoughts will become more like His.
Lord, Your ways and thoughts are indeed much greater and better than mine.