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We grow up in a fallen world that is satanically controlled and endarkened and deceived and wrong about many of the most important things. The wrong thinking of the world influences us and harms us. This is the word of the Lord: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” The more we exchange our thoughts for the Lord’s thoughts, the more blessed and successful we will be. Here are some of our thoughts that need to be exchanged for the Lord’s thoughts:
Our thoughts: It’s too hard. I’m too weak. I can’t do it.
The Lord’s thoughts: At the burning bush, the Lord said to Moses: “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelis out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelis out of Egypt?” Moses felt the task was too hard. He couldn’t possibly go up against the mighty Egyptian kingdom and free Israel from Egypt. He was too weak. He couldn’t do it. And God said, “I will be with you.” And when the Almighty is with us, nothing is too hard for us. We’re not too weak. We can do it.
Rabbi Paul was blessed with great wisdom and understanding. And the Lord gave him surpassingly great revelations. To keep him from becoming conceited, he was given a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment him. Three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it away from him. The Lord refused. He said to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” The rabbi understood. And based on his understanding, he wrote this to the Corinthians: Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Messiah’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Messiah’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. The children of God have His promise that power is made perfect in weakness, and that when we are weak, we are strong. His grace will always be sufficient for us – for all of our circumstances.
Paul wrote to the Philippians: I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. When we are walking with El Gibor, the Mighty God, He will give us the ability to do all the things He wants us to do.
When Yeshua, Peter, James and John came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, they encountered the other disciples and a man who had a demon-possessed son. The man asked the disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not. The man said to Yeshua: “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “‘If you can’?” said Yeshua. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Yeshua rebuked the impure spirit. The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. Everything is possible for one who believes – who has faith, who knows the Three-In-One God, who is loyal to the Father, Son and Spirit, and who trusts in the Word of God. We need to believe. We need to have faith. We need to trust God and His Word. We need to nurture our faith. We need to build ourselves up in our faith. We do this by being filled with the Spirit; by reading the Word of God; by talking to the Lord frequently throughout the day; by being active, involved members of Messiah’s Community; by proclaiming the gospel to those around us; by turning away from the world and from sin.
Our thoughts: I’m too tired to go on. I’m weary. I’m discouraged. I feel like quitting.
The Lord’s thoughts: Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Waiting on the Lord means being aware of God and being attentive to Him. As we become aware of what the Lord wants, we do what He wants. Just as a good waiter waits on his customers and is attentive to their desires, so we are to wait on the Lord and be attentive to Him, trying to see what He’s doing, hear what He’s saying and understand what He wants us to do. When we see, hear and understand, we immediately do what He wants us to do. When we wait on the Lord, our strength is renewed. We’re not too weary or too tired to go on. We won’t give in to discouragement. We won’t quit. We won’t give up.
Our thoughts: Nobody loves me.
The Lord’s thoughts: Yeshua said to His disciples: As I have loved you, so you must love one another … As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you … the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
Our thoughts: But what if God loved me once, but no longer loves me? What if God stops loving me?
The Lord’s thoughts: Rabbi Paul wrote to the Romans: I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord. God loves us – a lot– and will always and forever love us. Nothing can separate us from His love.
Our thoughts: I have no friends.
The Lord’s thoughts: Yeshua said: I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. How can you have no friends when the Son of God has confided precious truths that a friend would confide to a friend He trusts? How can you have no friends when the Son of God calls you His friend?
Our thoughts: I’m lonely. I’m all alone.
The Lord’s thoughts: Yeshua said: Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28). Hebrews 13: God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” God is with you. The Lord Yeshua is with you. You are not alone. You will never be alone.
Our thoughts: I can’t figure things out. I’m not smart enough. I don’t know what to do.
The Lord’s thoughts: Isaiah 9: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor. The Lord Yeshua always and in every situation discerns what is best and is able to give the best advice. He gives wonderful, miraculous advice, unfailing in the depths of its wisdom to all who come to Him for counsel.
1 Corinthians 1: You are in Messiah Yeshua, who has become for us wisdom from God. When we are united to Messiah and are close to Him, we have the mind of Messiah. We have an unending flow of divine wisdom from Him to us.
Proverbs 3: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Trust the Lord with all your heart, not part of your heart, and make decisions based on His Word – and your paths will be straight.
James 1: If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt (another way of saying trust in the Lord with all your heart), because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Our thoughts: I worry about money. I worry about a lot of things. I worry about the future.
The Lord’s thoughts: Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
1 Peter 5: Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Philippians 4: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.
Our thoughts: Life is hard. In some ways, it’s even harder since I’ve become a believer. I’ve lost friends because of my faith. Most people think I’m weird. I’m starting to think that being a believer is not worth it.
The Lord’s thoughts: Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Romans 8: I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Our thoughts: I’m afraid of a lot of things.
The Lord’s thoughts: Psalm 91: Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord,“He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Psalm 16: I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Psalm 27: The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 56: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise – in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
Isaiah 43: But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
2 Timothy 1: The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
Our thoughts: I’m tempted frequently. I give in too often. Sin is too strong. I can’t overcome it.
The Lord’s thoughts: Galatians 5: Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh … Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control.
Our thoughts: I’m unhappy much of the time.
The Lord’s thoughts: Psalm 51: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me … Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Repentance brings joy.
Isaiah 12: With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Salvation brings joy.
Peter 1: Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. Faith in Yeshua brings joy.
Psalm 97: Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Right living brings joy.
Psalm 92: For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. Thinking about the things God has done brings joy.
Psalm 19: The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. Frequent interaction with the Word of God brings joy.
Galatians 5: The fruit of the Spirit is joy. Being filled with the Spirit and walking in the Spirit brings joy.
James 1: Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. Suffering with a wise and understanding attitude brings joy.
Our thoughts: I have low self-esteem. I don’t feel good about myself. I don’t like myself.
The Lord’s thoughts: Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and overall the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them. Because we are made in the image of God, every human being is very gifted, very special, very precious, very important. We are special, precious, important because of who we are, not because of anything we accomplish. Being made in the image of God is where we get our identity, our sense of worth, our self-esteem. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! Being a child of God is better than being rich or famous or powerful or successful. Being a son or daughter of God is greater than being an angel or archangel, a president, king, CEO of a major corporation, billionaire, a famous actor, artist, musician or sports celebrity. Being a child of God is where we get our identity, our sense of worth, our self-esteem.