A Thought on Thoughts

I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts. Isaiah 65:2 NKJV


photo: Raye Wortel

photo: Raye Wortel

We were designed to consider, reflect, ruminate, speculate, and contemplate. We have the ability to ponder the deep, meditate the lofty, or dream of the wonders in-between. Bookstore shelves overflow with how-to manuals that teach positive, critical, and intuitive thinking.

 

We are a desperate people searching for ways to improve, or replace the thoughts that swirl inside our head.

 

In the early morning hours our thoughts travel with a fierce mind of their own. They are chaotic and sometimes genius, but by the time we climb out of bed, they have faded like the starlight of the passing night.

 

By mid-day, our thoughts have bloomed and died a hundred times over. They have left scars or created hope while rolling on with a persistent will of their own.

 

And when night falls, we reflect on the guilt or joy, frustration or freedom they have wrought in the course of our day.

 

What is with their power? Why does is seem we are so outside of our own thoughts – completely captive to them, rather than them captive to us?

 

We work and live while trying to force good and praiseworthy thoughts to the forefront of our mind, but at the end of the day, our mind feels like a battleground where our judgements, criticisms, and mental nit-picking have won the war.

 

But what if we didn’t think so much about our thinking?

 

What if we committed everything we did to the Lord, and let him give us the thoughts we need?

 

In reality, so much of our rotten or useless thinking has to do with the drudgery, inconvenience, or bitterness we feel towards the people we serve, and the tasks we do.

 

If we handed every chore, every errand, and every project – no matter how small, over to the Lord, they become his; completed with his strength and purpose. He’ll give us a mindset of humility, grace, and perseverance we couldn’t possibly summon on our own.

 

Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established. – Proverbs 16:3 NKJV

 

Established thoughts from God are thoughts that are set up to endure. And isn’t that what we want? Great thoughts that stick with us no matter what we’re doing, where we’re going, or who we’re with?

 

Let’s commit our works to the Lord, and watch how he’ll change our heart, our disposition, and our thoughts for the glory of his name!

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