I woke up this morning remembering the night’s silly dreams – a muddle of nonsense. If my mind worked like that during the day, someone might lock me in a room with padded walls. Yet when coming this morning to the Word of God, this is what He first gave me . . .
Seek the Lord
while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 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. For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts. (Isaiah 55:6–9)
Do my ordinary thoughts appear as silly to God and those
dreams appeared to my wide-awake mind? What does God see going on in my head that
is “lower” than His thinking and needs to be elevated from its foolishness? The
other assigned readings for today give me several insights into how my thoughts
could be more like God’s.
First, I need to let His words have their intended
purposes. Scripture was written and made available to me so God could change my
life. It says, “But as for you, continue
in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you
learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred
writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ
Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God
may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:14–17)
The Word of God has brought salvation to me, has taught, tested
and corrected me, but how much have I allowed it to train me that I might do
good things? Sometimes I treat the Bible as a course in self-improvement, but God
has something higher in mind. He wants to equip me so I am useful to Him and
can serve others, so I can get to work and not merely have a better looking
resume.
Second, cult members and false teachers pick and choose
the parts they want to promote or to apply. Most of us find it easier to read our
favorite parts and ignore the rest. Often I read the Bible and focus on commands
that I obey so as to feel encouraged, but skip too quickly over the parts that
convict me of sin or the need to change. Hughes says not to do that, but as I
read the Bible, be willing to let the Bible read me.
Third, the psalmist says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against
you.” (Psalm 119:11) This is normally considered an exhortation to memorize
the Word of God so as to avoid sin, but I’ve not done much rote memorization. I
can usually recall and find verses, but being able to say them and their
location is not one of my skills. Today, He reminds me of a good reason why I should
be more diligent in memorizing: When my thoughts are “lower” than the thoughts
of God and filling my head with anything other than His thoughts, it is far
better to repeat what God says than let my thoughts control either my
imagination or the way I talk and act.
The main idea is to pay close attention when I read the Bible
(which is the part of prayer where God speaks to me) and act on those
challenges to change. The last line of the reading says, “May I suggest that if
you are having a comfortable time reading the Bible, the chances are you are
not reading it correctly.”
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