by Amanda Lakie
The Lord had been working on my heart regarding these thoughts, and I felt He wanted me to speak about them at our recent ladies’ meeting. I thought it was quite appropriate time-wise as it was just days before a holiday where everyone dresses up and imagines they are someone else!
Comparing My Thoughts to God’s Thoughts – What Imaginations Am I Allowing That I Know Are Not Truth?
II Corinthians 10: 4 & 5 “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, & every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, & bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
*We must take our thoughts captive! Sometimes I try to push out a negative thought about myself or other Christians or the world; however, if those thoughts keep coming to mind, we need to take them captive, talk to God about them, deal with them, and allow God and His Word to remind us of what the truth is.
*Does every thought we have obey Christ? Do we think we are unworthy? – the Bible tells us that we are loved beyond measure!
Romans 1:21 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, & their foolish heart was darkened.”
*Thankfulness can help our thought life! It’s hard to have negative thoughts about ourselves or others when we are being grateful and seeing how God is working in all of our lives!
Psalm 139:19-24 “Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. For they speak against thee wickedly, & thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? & am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, & know my heart: try me, & know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, & lead me in the way everlasting.”
*We must continually ask God to check our thoughts and motives. David felt he was doing good by hating those who hated the Lord, but he also was wise enough to immediately ask God to search his heart in case there was any wickedness in what he was feeling.
*God gave his Son to die for the World. Even when we don’t agree with others, hating others is like a slap in the face to Jesus and God – I can’t imagine how God feels when we believe that someone they sacrificed so much for is not worth our loving!
*Never forget – we’re to hate sin, but love sinners…after all, we ourselves are sinners!
Jeremiah 17:7-10 “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, & whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, & that spreadeth out her roots by the river, & shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; & shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding. The heart is deceitful above all things, & desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, & according to the fruit of his doings.”
*When our thoughts about ourselves or others is negative (which will happen as we are sinners and our heart is deceitful), we must check our thoughts against the Word of God.
*As my husband often says, “If we think one way, and the Bible says something different, we’re the one who is wrong!”
Jeremiah 18: 12 “And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, & we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.”
*Allowing our negative imaginations to get the best of us is key to us having no hope.
*Once we begin thinking of ourselves and others as God thinks of them, hope will return. Never forget that we ladies are princesses to a King – we are heirs to the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills!
Isaiah 26: 3 & 4 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:”
*When anxiety gets the best of us, we must fixate on our Lord.
*There is not much more that the Devil hates than the name of Jesus and the blood of Jesus. When you are really fighting the Devil, speak aloud about your salvation and how the blood of Jesus has cleansed you and given you the ultimate victory.
Isaiah 55: 8 & 9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, & my thoughts than your thoughts.”
*We all know that God will work all things, even negative ones, for His good.
*However, these verse show us that He doesn’t just take negative scenarios caused by our or other’s sins and work them for good to them who love Him, but His plans are literally better than our own! When we see a roadblock or interruption, it may just be that He is working out something far greater than we could ever imagine!
To sum it up…
Please remember how loved and cherished you are!
Don’t make excuses for not loving others (whether fellow Christians or unbelievers) – we are commanded to love!
When your thoughts or feelings are telling you something you know is untrue, go to God’s Word, and believe it!
