Have you ever used the expression, “I would have never thought…”? You might say that about an experience you encountered that surprised you. Maybe something that happened out of the blue or an expectation that either went better than you thought, or perhaps much worse than you could have ever imagined.
The truth is that we encounter things contrary to our thoughts all the time. And especially in terms of faith, we are assured in Isaiah 55:8-9
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
How are we surprised when our world is rocked by unexpected things when God has laid out the blueprint for us?
In 2 Kings 5-8 we see several stories of how people could look back and say, “I never would have thought…” Naaman’s healing didn’t happen the way he THOUGHT it would. Gehazi could never have THOUGHT that Elisha would know he accepted the gifts and hid them. When the guy’s axe head fell into the river, he THOUGHT to himself, “Welp, there goes that…” Elisha’s servant, seeing the vast army of Aram on the hillside, THOUGHT this was the end for them.
What are your THOUGHTS telling you? The situation you are in will never change. The past is too great to let go. The future is too uncertain. Whatever you are facing, and whatever your THOUGHTS are screaming at you, remember that God works outside the realm of our thoughts and what we can see. His ways are higher and greater, and his thoughts are for us and not against us.
Question for reflection:
- How you can relate to these stories and how does God give you hope in your own thoughts?