God's Word -- the "High" Way of Life

Text: Isaiah 55:8-11: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than ther earth, so are my ways higher than yours ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the sun from heaven and returns not thither, but waters the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

In a day and age where we are bombarded with different people's opinion's it is hard to really know what actually works. Think about it. From Oprah to Dr. Phil and from Vogue to Cosmopolitan there are a host of words trying to shape the way you think. What we need to understand, though is that how you think determines what you do.

Your Way of Thinking Shapes Your Actions

Back in my college days, I remember I moved from the dorms and moved off campus with a friend of mine. For the most part we were pretty neat guys and we were pretty proud of that. One day, my roommates girlfriend was over to our house and she was watching as I washed the dishes and clean the kitchen. I had washed the dishes in the sink with the dish towel and then after I was done, I preceded to use that same towel to wash off the counter-tops and tables. My roommates girlfriend gasped in horror. I could not figure out why. She asked, "why are you washing off the counter tops with the same towel that you clean the dishes? Don't you know the potential of spreading germs that way?"

I stopped and listened to her lecture and thought to myself. "You know, that makes sense." I had not thought of it that way before therefore my actions reflected my way of thinking about that issue. When I got some better understanding on the matter, I adjusted my thinking and therefore my actions changed. I began to use a different towel to wash the dishes than I used to clean off the counter tops. Now this is a fairly harmless example, but if you think about your life and the way you think about certain issues determine your responses and your actions. To put a bottom line to it-- your life is a sum total of the way you think about certain situations and matters. The way you think about money determines your financial life. If you don't have a proper understanding on money and its purposes in handling it... chances are you are up to your eyeballs in debt due to your spending habits. If you have a poor understanding concerning your body and health matters, chances are you are out of shape and probably diseased or sick. If you don't understand the proper confines for sexual relations, chances are you have subjected or exposed yourself to an STD, single parenting, or emotional baggage. The way you think about the severity of marriage is probably dictating whether or not you are even considering divorce as an option. Stop reading for a second and take quick inventory of your life. Look around you. The reason your life is the way that it is, is because of your way of thinking on the matter.

This is where the above scripture comes into play. We put a lot of stock in other people's way of thinking. When your favorite talk show advises something you jump right on board. The person who marketed the South Beach diet made millions because they were successfully able to change the way so many people thought about eating that it causes people to purchase cook books, and TV dinners. It spurred immediate action. When Oprah puts a book on the Book Club, many people jump and buy it because their way of thinking says that Oprah knows what is a good read. When Cosmo gives relationship advice we test it out. The reality is sometimes the advice works.... sometimes it doesn't. Does it ever occur to anybody to see what God's thoughts are?

1. For My thoughts are not your thoughts....neither are my ways your ways said the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

God is very clear here to tell us that He doesn't think like us therefore His way of going about a matter will not be the way He chooses to do it. That's clear. Take for example where Jesus asks us to offer the other cheek when we are slapped, or that when we don't have money we should give money away in order to get it back. These actions are typically not our natural inclination. We don't think like God.

2. For as the rain cometh down and the sun from heaven and returns not there, but makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my Word be that proceeds out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void.

God's Word works. It's that simple. He compares it to when it rains. Precipitation falls from the sky, but it does not evaporate back upward UNTIL it waters the earth and produces what it was sent to do. God's Word, the Bible, is the same way. Everything in it produces results that the book says it will produce. It is the Truth. Lots of times, people never know that because they never actually do what the book says to do-- so they never know what is on the other side of that obedience to it. In the book of Proverbs chapter 3 it explains to us that we should not lean to our own understanding, but in all our ways to acknowledge God and He will direct our paths. But we tend to look at situations from our own experience, therefore leaning to our own understanding rather than to do a thing, God's way. For example: Proverbs 15:1 says, A soft answers diffuses anger, but grievious tongue stirs anger up. Most times people don't follow that simple wisdom and save themselves a world of headache. God's Word produces positive results every time.

If you get God's thoughts, you can get His ways: If you start thinking like God by reading your Bible and beginning to agree with what it says, then when situations arise and you recall what the Bible says in certain circumstances and then carry it out. You will get the results you want. Further than that, when situations arise and you want to know how to respond, you can go search the scriptures for the answer.

Thanks for reading.

Live Intentionally, Die Empty

- Beau

By the way, the way you think about eternity will determine your action on deciding whether or not to make Jesus the Boss of your Life or not. If you want to receive Jesus as your Boss and Rescue. You can do that today. The Word of God says that if you will believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and the Son of God then you can be saved. Say this: God, I admit that I am a sinner, I choose today to accept your son Jesus as the Boss of my life, save me, take my life and do something with it starting today. I believe that today I am no longer a sinner, but I am saved. Thank you that I can now call you my Father, in Jesus name, Amen.