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Q:
Dear Pastor,
Is it really true that God knows my thoughts?
A:
Yes, it’s really true. And I’m thinking you’re of an age where this could be a scary idea?
When I was a teenager, my thoughts were ruled by so many things that I wouldn’t be able to identify my own head if you showed it to me today. Confusion, fear, rage and anxiety. Hope, excitement, lust and love. Arrogance yet deep insecurity sprinkled with rabid selfishness or random acts of kindness were all common traits, side-by-side in my chaotic thought life. God was in there somewhere too, since by his grace I was raised in a Christian home, but it wasn’t very noticeable back then. The fact that you’re asking this question tells me that you know who God is but also realize that you need him to redeem your thought-life. Be encouraged: God knows all about you, he knows what goes on in your head and he still loves you.
There’s a famous Christian singer in Kansas City, MO named Misty Edwards. One of her most impacting songs about God is written in the first-person where God is speaking directly into a human heart. She sings, “I knew what I was getting into when I called you. I knew what I was getting into when I said your name…but I said it just the same.” He knows who we are and loves us as is. While we desperately need redemption in every area, this is true of every person.
The darkest days of the earth were right before Noah and his family boarded an enormous boat called “The Ark.” God said of those days, “…the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5 NASB.) This is proof that from the very beginning of mankind; from the genesis of the human race, God knew our thoughts. Thankfully, after the living things on the earth were wiped out and humanity started over through Noah and his family, the journey toward Christ’s birth and salvation for us began again. You could say that the potential for a new thought life began there too.
Fifteen hundred years after Noah’s great flood, King Solomon was receiving some advice from his father, King David, who said this, “…for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts” (1 Chron. 28:9.) In other words, “Be aware of what’s in your head, son. God sees it.”
King David invested time with God so often that he discovered one of God’s truths—that he thinks about us constantly: “Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which you have done, and your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with you” (Psalm 40:5.) Take comfort in this and be reassured in God’s love.
Yet the Lord is quick to make sure we know that our thoughts are different than his. The Prophet Isaiah spoke on behalf of the Lord on many occasions, repeating several times: “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8.) There are some things we cannot comprehend that are deep in God’s mind. He allows us to know him, but we cannot fathom everything in his universe. This is alright by me. I avoid a headache and allow him to be smarter than I am. It’s so sad when people strive to be able to claim they understand the Bible perfectly and know everything about God. No one does and no one ever will.
When Jesus came, he saved and redeemed everything. Now, even our thought-life can be restored and remade into something better, according to the positive reinforcement of the Apostle Paul: “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinth. 10:5.) The goal of our Christian lives is to craft our thought-life into something that looks more like Jesus’. Here’s why: if our thoughts are working properly, then our actions will follow…and our life begins to work properly! This passage seems to tell us that we are able to do it—change our own mind by grabbing our thoughts and converting them to a better path more aligned with God. We can do it!
Do you have a question or comment for Pastor Adrienne? Email your inquiries to: info@adriennewgreene.com. For more information & contact for bookings, please also explore: www.askpastoradrienne.com.