“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.”
Isaiah 55:8 NIV
It’s natural for us to think that in order to be useful or acceptable before God, one needs to be smart, strong and upright! On the contrary, human strength, goodness and wisdom do not help us to be of use or value to God, but rather deters us!
To understand that let’s look at Josephʼs life.
Joseph was hated by his own brothers, he was sold, and later became a servant/slave to Potiphar, the Egyptian. He could very well say, “I am miserable!” Afterwards he was framed by Potipharʼs wife and went to prison. “Why? Why is this happening to me? This is so painful and I feel so miserable!” He may have very well said that. However, God was with his life and he had another view that said, “This is not sadness.This is where I want to bless you. This is a prelude to a blessing.”
Our view is always wrong because it is formed by limited knowledge. Even if we clearly see and confirm through our own eyes, it is completely different from seeing through the eyes of God. Therefore, it does not mean that just because you have clearly seen and known something, then that thing is accurate.
A life of faith does not look at situations through human eyes. When Lazarus died (John chapter 11), facing this circumstance, the eyes of Martha and Mary were completely different from those of Jesus. Martha said, “Lazarus is dead. He is rotting and stinking.” Jesus said, “No. Your brother will live.”
When God told Abraham that He would give him a son, Abraham thought, “How can a one hundred-year- old man have a son? Sarah is ninety nine . . . . This is impossible.” But God said, “Your wife Sarah will bear you a son.” That is how the whole Bible goes. Story after story, the viewpoint of God is completely different from everyone. And to experience the power of God , we have to align our thoughts to His Word not our experience or knowledge.
As we have lived in this world, Satan has planted distrust in our hearts. As we were deceived many times by people around us, we have lived believing only in ourselves. We believe our experience, our knowledge, and believe what we have seen. We think whatever fits those things is accurate.
People believe themselves rather than Jesus. Because people believe in their own experience, knowledge, and methods, they do not follow the Word of God when it does not fit their hearts and when it seems that a loss will come about. That is why God becomes small and powerless in their lives. When we accept Jesus in our hearts as Savior, as Lord, when Jesus is higher than our thoughts God begins to work in our lives. He works when we accept through faith into our heart the fact that Jesusʼ thoughts are right rather than how I see things to be.
THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN
This is also true with receiving the forgiveness of sins. It is not that you have to check with your eyes that your sins have been forgiven. It is not that you have to feel that your sins are forgiven in your heart. The accurate method to verify whether your sins were forgiven or not, is to check from Godʼs viewpoint. (The bible)
Even though you are a filthy, dirty sinner with many flaws. The Bible(God’s Viewpoint), in Isaiah chapter 53, verse 5-6 records:
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
In your eyes it is true that you are a sinner. You have sinned, committed evil, and have lived filthy, lustful, and deceitful lifestyle. You also sin every day. But how are you in Godʼs eyes?
The blood Jesus shed on the cross washed our sins away and in Godʼs eyes we are whiter than snow. Therefore, God says that He does not remember our sins(Hebrews 10:17), He calls us righteous.
Now here’s faith, is your judgment(viewpoint) of what you’ve seen correct, or is Godʼs judgment(viewpoint) correct? Faith is accepting and standing on God’s viewpoint of you as the only one that is correct. Anything other than that isn’t faith!
Many people do not incline their hearts to the Word of God, but instead follow their thoughts and call themselves sinners or righteous according to their works. They think that doing good deeds and asking for forgiveness everytime they commit sin, is the truthful way to living spiritual life. It may seem so, but objectively put, such things come about from distrusting the Word of God.
We must throw our thoughts away to live true spiritual lives.
When you stand with sadness or misery, you must ask, “God, is this the case in your eyes also?”
Go to God and ask, “God, is this misery? Is this sadness? Is this pain?” Then if God does say that it is sadness, then it is. But even though it looks like misery in your eyes, if God calls it joy, do not believe yourself, rather believe that it is joy. This is believing God. This is faith.
In the eyes of Joseph, being betrayed by his own brothers, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and abandoned in a foreign prison, was truly sad and miserable! But remember one thing, in all these circumstances God was with Joseph!
I don’t know what exactly is your circumstance right now, what kind of betrayal, accusation or falling you are going through, it’s natural to feel miserable, but that is not faith, faith looks at God who is bigger than any situation. If you feel miserable when the life conditions are against you, and feel good and praising God only when circumstances are favourable, you are not a believer, you don’t believe in God, you believe in circumstances using God.
So regardless of what your thoughts are, If God says that you are righteous, then you are righteous. God has washed you clean. Your sins are washed as white as snow. God does not remember your sins anymore! God says you are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. God says there’s nothing that can separate you from His love.
I hope that you can receive this heart in you today and be able to live the blessed life through faith not works! Amen.
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