Precious thoughts

We have a big wedding anniversary this year and it has me thinking how fast time flies. I’ve also been thinking of how two people who know each other well can seem to read each other's mind. Sometimes we say the same thing at the same time, and then laugh. At other times, we get it mostly right, like yesterday when the notion struck me to bake bread. When my husband came home from work, he brought a loaf from the store, saying he was craving fresh bread.

Occasionally we discover we don’t know each other as well as we thought. One time he said that I liked looking at show homes because they are so uncluttered. I did a double-take because that thought never entered my head; I like looking at show homes for creative ideas to use in our home.

When two people marry, neither of them offers a book of thoughts to help the other one know them better. While that might be interesting, we change our minds far too often for such a record to be helpful. However, it is not the same when it comes to our relationship with God. He did give us a book of His thoughts. 

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! (Psalm 139:17)

The Bible reveals the mind of God. Oh, not all of this book is about what God thinks. Some is a record of human activity, revealing sin and selfish attitudes and our history of rejecting God. On the upside, the Bible tells how people of faith trusted Him and how we can do it too.

The psalmist called the thoughts of God precious and vast. I would add to that, “unchanging.” While He uses different methods in varying situations, the nature and character of God never change, nor do His opinions. He is dependable and true to what He reveals about Himself.

Yet I cannot read the mind of God. Even though He reveals so much in His Word about how He thinks, and even though He never changes His mind, that little word “vast” puts me in a constant discovery mode. I have read the Bible daily for forty years, read it from cover to cover many times, yet I still cannot claim to know all the thoughts of God. This is a subject too large for any human brain.

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Lord, Your mind is an incredible wonder. Just when I think I have figured You out, You show me that there is much more to discover.  Even though You do not change, my understanding of You changes and grows with each revelation. Thank You for faithfully revealing Yourself. You use Your book to show me Your thoughts. You also reveal who You are in creation, in Your people, and most of all in Jesus Christ. Each day brings new and precious truths, and for that I am grateful.