He says: "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord." (Isaiah 55:8) When we ended yesterday's study He said for everyone to turn to Him and forsake their wicked ways. We don't always realize that our ways are wicked. Our brains work 24/7 and many of our thoughts don't line up with who we are in the Lord, but we are so busy and our thoughts are so many that we are often unaware of just how many times in the day we think something in a wrong attitude. What man considers righteousness is far below what the Lord considers righteousness. As King Solomon famously said, "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12) When we compare ourselves to our fellow man, we may come off looking fairly good if we are living a basically moral life. But when we compare ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, we can see just how far we fall short. Because we cannot live a perfectly righteous life---in word or in thought or in deed---we need to receive His righteousness in order to have our sins pardoned.
The Lord continues in the same theme. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9) The Lord created us with enough intelligence to communicate with Him and to have fellowship with Him, but we do not possess an intelligence like His. I am going to use a simple little example to describe the way I picture what the Lord is saying. Any of you who know much about me know that I love dogs and have always had dogs. Dogs are intelligent enough to communicate with me and to have fellowship with me, but dogs do not possess as much intelligence as I do. My current dog, Beau, can't understand everything I say and do. My thoughts are not his thoughts, my ways are not his ways, and my level of intelligence is higher than his level of intelligence. He sometimes has a difference in opinion than I do in regard to the best way to handle situations. My dog doesn't always want to do what I tell him to do. He can't really understand why I do things that I do, such as giving him haircuts and baths or taking him to the vet for his vaccines. In a similar way, we don't always understand why the Lord does what He does. We don't always want to do what He tells us to do.
Continuing with this example, how are we to handle things we don't understand? Well, my dog knows I love him. Although he doesn't always understand why I do the things I do, he knows I love him and he senses that whatever I do is for his benefit. He trusts me to take care of him even when that means he doesn't always enjoy some of the things I have to do to take care of him. He trusts that when I tell him he can't do this or that, it's for his safety. In this same way we know that the Lord loves us. We may not know why He does the things He does and we may not enjoy every situation He puts us in, but we can trust that He is taking care of us. When He doesn't allow a particular thing, it is for our safety. When He puts us in situations we don't especially like, it is for our betterment. Everything He says to us and everything He does for us is coming from a loving heart.
The Lord has taught me a lot of things through my pets. I've often thought that my dogs do a better job of obeying their master than I do in obeying my Master. I believe the Lord uses all sorts of things to teach us how to follow Him, especially things He knows we enjoy and love. He knows I enjoy and love my dogs and He has used them as examples for how to trust and obey. If we keep in mind that the Lord always relates to us in love and that He always wants the best for us, we can begin to view everything in life as a way to grow in our faith and as a way to continually develop a closer relationship with Him.
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