One of the most frequent questions we receive is, “What are you thinking about?
Perhaps, for many, this may be just another question, but as a child of God it should be a way to measure where I am positioned in my spiritual maturity and also lead me to reflect and ask myself: Does what I am thinking edify me, or not? Does it add to my spiritual life, or not? Does it encourage me to make good decisions, or not?
It is important to understand that everything I meditate on — I spend my time thinking about – becomes strong within my heart. It becomes a part of my beliefs and also becomes the truth that nothing and no one can steal from me. It becomes a promise (Which is a blessing for us today), that when I decide to believe it and take possession of it, becomes my lifestyle.
The Bible encourages us to live by what we believe, not by what we know (Rom 1:17).
We see in Joshua 1:7-8, that God did not guarantee success to Joshua as a reward for his obedience or permanence, but that his success was guaranteed if he constantly meditated on all that Moses, God’s gift to his life, had imparted in him. Why? Because it is the only way a piece of information or teaching becomes true in my life, challenges me to true repentance (change in thinking), and prompts me to activate a key word that we see in verse 8, “Then,” which means there is a before and an after.
God placed a demand on Joshua: “continue in what you have heard”, because that will make you a different person because the blessing will be visible in everything you undertake.
In other words, why is it so important what occupies our thoughts? Because everything that catches our attention and thoughts are caused in its great majority by what we see and hear, and will be in a great part, the outcome of what we speak and live. In other words, for better or worse, it will be what defines our present and affects our future.
Jeremiah 29:11, illustrates explicitly the importance of thoughts and what they produce: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you…”. The Father makes it clear to us that he has only one way of thinking on our behalf, and he does not change them or question them; regardless of what we think, say or do, the Father is completely sure of what He thinks, He is at peace with us. Now, we must understand and realize that it will be of no use in our lives if those thoughts continue to simply be God’s thoughts for us; there will be no change or fulfillment of what they guarantee us, if we do not make the determination to let “His thoughts” become “my thoughts”.
When I am encouraged to know his thoughts, then I will know what is in his heart, and by knowing what is in his heart I realize that if I am not living what he planned, it is not because God allowed it, but because I allowed it.
Therefore, when I begin to know the Father’s thoughts for me, and I begin to meditate on them so that they may be revealed in my heart, a confidence and assurance awakens within, that does not come from a logical or natural place, but from the heavenly sphere to which you and I belong.
That means that those thoughts bring order into our lives and thus, we start experiencing the peace, safety, wellbeing and rest that we all want so much.
“Thinking as the Father thinks gives us the ability to function in our original design.”
So, why do we so often find it difficult to live the Father’s thoughts for us? Could it be that although we say we love and believe Him, our deepest thoughts and what floods our hearts, are thoughts and questions that do not come from the heart of the One who loved us with unconditional love? It is a good question to meditate on…
Translated by Camila Mendoza.
.
