“For who has
known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the
mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16).
As I write this
article our world is experiencing the Coronavirus pandemic. While the
Coronavirus is not something to mess with, it is not nearly as dangerous as the
fear and shear pandemonium that people are displaying. The fear that people are
experiencing will do far more harm than good. Fear has a way of driving people
to make stupid mistakes; likewise the worry that is associated with fear will
cause longer lasting health effects than the Coronavirus itself.
However, for us
as Christians, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of
love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7 NKJV). Therefore, this month, I’d
like us to briefly consider how to know if our thoughts are from the Lord.
There are three keys to thinking Godly thoughts.
First, Godly
thoughts come from God’s Word (Rom. 12:2).The fact of the matter is
this: 99% of what God wants to you to do in your life is spelled out in His
Word. And even when the Bible does not
explicitly talk about things, odds are, there is a principle in God’s Word that
can direct you in the right way to go.
Second, to think
Godly, we need to be able to discern the still small voice of the Holy
Spirit (1 Kings 19:12). Few of us ever get quiet enough to hear that
voice. The Lord also said that He is our Shepherd, and as His sheep, we will
know His voice (John 10:27). Do you recognize God’s voice speaking in your
heart? To determine if it truly is the Lord who is speaking to you, you need to
check the message against God’s Word—and not just against one isolated verse
that may seem to verify or confirm what you want the message to be. You need to
weigh the message you are receiving from God against the whole of God’s Word.
Lastly, in order
to think godly, we have to listen to Godly counsel. The more that
you hang around people whose thinking is in line with Scripture, the more that
you will find yourself thinking godly things. Proverbs 12:15 NLT says, “Fools
think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.” Proverbs 11:14
NASB says, “Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of
counselors there is victory.” Many live a lone-ranger type Christianity that
refuses to listen to wise spiritual counselors.
Refusing to
listen to God’s thoughts can result in living a fearful and worry-filled life
directed by the world. Whereas listening
to God and being among those who overcome the world through their faith (1 Jn
5:4) removes our fears.
More of Him, less
of me,
Matt
No comments:
Post a Comment