For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 is used by many Christians to indicate that God’s ways are unsearchable and they will never get to know and understand God, and to exonerate them from their responsibility and obligations. But what is Isaiah 55:8-9 referring to? Why was God’s way not their ways, and His ways higher than their ways? Does this still apply in the New Covenant for Christians or not?
Why is God’s way not the way of the old carnal man?
Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake His way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than our ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:6-9)
God’s ways are unsearchable for those, who don’t know God personally and don’t spend time with Him and go their own way. Because Isaiah 55:8-9 refers to the wicked that are mentioned in verse 7.
In the Old Testament, we read about the people of Israel and how they constantly left God’s way. Every time, they followed the will, lust, and desires of their flesh instead of the will of God, which God had made known to them through the Law of Moses and the words of His prophets.
And so the people departed from the words of God and went in the opposite direction.
They left God’s way and engaged with pagan nations. They adopted their cultures and pagan rituals and served their gods.
This continued until someone arose, who sought the Lord and showed repentance and removed all the idolatry and the pagan practices and rituals from their midst.
But this was only temporary. Within a matter of time, someone else arose. Someone, who didn’t seek and serve the Lord, but was prideful and rebellious against the will of God and left the words of God.
These rebels with their wicked nature caused God’s people to depart from God and His Word.
God’s people envied the life and gods of the pagan nations
The people didn’t see, that God loved His children and wanted the best for them. They didn’t see that God’s way was the best way for them to walk on.
No, the people looked at the other nations and cultures. They were envious of them and wanted, what they had. Therefore they adopted their cultures, pagan customs, and rituals.
By doing that, they rejected and hurt God. Through their words and actions, they showed God, that He wasn’t (good) enough for them. Because, if God had been enough for them, they would have been satisfied and grateful. They wouldn’t have searched for other gods to serve.
If God was enough for them, they would have listened to and relied on Him. They would have remained faithful and obedient to Him and followed God’s way instead of their way. (Read also: If you have found the Truth, why are you still searching?).
God’s way is the way of the new spiritual man
In a previous blog post, it was discussed how God’s thoughts are not in agreement with the thoughts of the old man, who is led by the flesh, in which evil (sinful nature) is present.
But the new man has received God’s Holy Spirit. He abides in the new man.
The Holy Spirit knows the depths of God. If a person walks after the Spirit instead of the flesh and spends time with Jesus; the Word, then the person shall get to know God, His will, and His thoughts. This also applies to His ways.
If you spend time on the things of this world and feed your mind with the things of this world, then your way shall become the way of the world.
You shall go your way and decide the direction you want to go in life. But many times, the way and direction you want to go is not God’s way and the direction He wants you to go.
Only when you spend time with Jesus; the Word and the Father and take His words and feed and renew your mind with the words of God and set your mind on the things above, then your way and the direction you want to go, shall line up with God’s way and you shall walk in His will.
Is submission hard?
Many people find it hard to submit to others. This behavior is already present in the lives of children and the way they rebel against parental authority and/or teacher’s authority. Children don’t want to submit to others, but they want to do their own thing and go their own way.
The world approves of this rebellious behavior. The ‘experts’ of this world not only approve of this rebellious behavior, but they also encourage this behavior. They say, that you must give your child some space. You must listen to their needs, let them decide, and make their own choices. But God has given the responsibility for the care and raising of children to parents and not to worldly experts.
If you don’t train your child in the way the child should go and don’t correct your child, and don’t raise your child in the right way, the child shall become a prideful unguided missile, who refuses to submit to others and authorities and doesn’t want to be told what to do.
If a child doesn’t learn to submit to parents, the child shall never be able to submit to others (elders, authorities, employers, etc.). When the child grows up, the child shall exalt him/herself above others. The child shall rebel against others and shall go his/her own way.
If someone is not able to submit to others, how can someone submit to Jesus Christ and His authority? Exactly, that’s impossible. And that’s exactly what happens in the lives of many Christians.
Everyone goes his own way and has his own faith. And everyone thinks that he is right and possesses the truth.
The Word is the Servant of Many Christians
Many Christians don’t take the Word of God as it is. They don’t believe the words of God and don’t apply the words of God to their lives, so that their lives change and line up with the will of God. Instead of adjusting their lives to the words of God, they adjust the words of God to the will. lust, desires needs of their flesh.
They choose random Scriptures, take them out of context, and proclaim these Bible verses to get what they want.
The Word is their Servant, instead of them being the servants of the Word.
They decide what to do and what is right and wrong. These Christians decide which way, they want to go and the Word must follow them.
They don’t care about the will of God. They don’t listen to the Word, Who leads them and warns them of (spiritual) dangers.
They’re not submissive to the Word. Because that could mean, that they have to go another way, instead of the way they want to go. And that’s something, that many Christians don’t want.
Most Christians have made their own plans for the future and are not willing to give up their plans and dreams. They are not willing to lay down their lives, including their plans and dreams, on the altar and give them up for Jesus.
Who is willing and bold enough to lay down his own will and dreams on the altar and give them up for Jesus? Who loves Jesus so much, that he is willing to lay down his life and will, to follow Him?
Jesus needs to realize their plans and dreams
Many Christians confess they love Jesus and want to follow Him. But their actions and way of life, don’t line up with the words they confess. Because they go their own way. They make their own decisions, follow their dreams, and determine the way they want to go.
They go their own way and execute their own plan for their lives. But… As soon as something happens and things don’t go as planned, and their plans and dreams are disrupted, they become angry, rebellious, or dejected, absorbed in self-pity, and blame it on God.
They murmur and complain, “Why God, do You allow this to happen?, Why God, don’t you do something? Why God, …” (fill out the blanks).
But God doesn’t answer and keeps quiet and waits… until they are prepared and willing to go His way instead of their own way, which is focused upon the flesh and the world.
The way of the world is not God’s way
The dreams and plans of this world, are not God’s dreams and plans. God’s way is the way of the Spirit and not the way of the flesh. God’s purpose for man is not to become highly educated, to acquire the highest positions or ranks at work or in society, or to acquire fame just like the world does. His purpose for the new man is not to be focused on himself and invest all his time in the things of the world.
But God’s purpose for the new man is to save as many souls as possible from death and hell, who keeps them in bondage, and to redeem souls and set them free in the mighty Name of Jesus.
God His given Son and His Holy Spirit to the new man. God has given all power and all authority to the new man to make the Kingdom of God visible to those, who live in darkness and are on their way to eternal death.
Every soul needs Jesus!
There is no single soul on this earth, who doesn’t need Jesus.
God has appointed the new man and given the commandment to represent and preach Jesus Christ, by living after the Spirit and doing His will.
The heart of the new man should have compassion for all those people, who are lost. (Read also: Bring the lost home!).
But many times this isn’t the case. Because many Christians are too busy with themselves.
They don’t care about other people living in darkness in the bondage of the devil, sin, and death. They don’t care about lost souls, they only think about themselves. And so they keep their mouth shut and approve of sin and allow people to walk in sin.
God’s ways lead to heaven and man’s ways lead to hell
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (James 1:14-15)
However, the Bible says, that the wages of sin is death. This applies to everyone, even if you call yourself a Christian.
You can call yourself whatever you want, but your actions and the way you live determines, who you are. Your life shows if you are born of God and belong to God and do His will or that you still belong to the devil and do his will. (Read also: The will of God vs the will of the devil).
Everyone, who keeps walking in sin, walks in rebellion against God on his or her way which leads to eternal death.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. If you abide and stay in Him, by living after His will and His commandments, you shall walk on God’s way. God’s way is a narrow way that leads to eternal life.
But you can only walk on this narrow way if you have said goodbye to your own way; your will, desires, dreams, plans, etc. Because many times these dreams and plans for your life originated from the will of the flesh and not from the will of the Spirit.
Paul had an encounter with Jesus Christ
According to the world, Paul was a wise and educated man. But when Paul had a personal encounter with Jesus the Christ, Paul laid down his carnal knowledge and wisdom and gave his life to Jesus (Acts 9).
Paul made Jesus the Lord of his life and decided to follow Him. Paul knew, what the consequences of his decision would mean for his life. He knew that if he decided to follow Jesus, he would suffer for the Name of Jesus and experience resistance, persecution, and imprisonment. Jesus and the Holy Spirit had shown this to Paul (Acts 9:16 and 20:22-28).
When the time arrived, that Paul would be taken captive for the Name of Jesus in Jerusalem, his brothers warned him and tried to stop him from going to Jerusalem. One of his brothers had received a revelation and saw what would happen to Paul.
But Paul knew that it was the will of God to go to Jerusalem. Why? Because it was God’s way to be a witness and testify of Jesus Christ to the Roman officials (Acts 27:23-24).
If Paul had been carnal and walked after the flesh, Paul might have listened to his brothers and not gone to Jerusalem.
But Paul laid down his own will and walked after the Spirit on God’s way after God’s will. Paul was prepared to suffer and die for the Name of Jesus. That’s why he kept walking after the will of God.
Paul didn’t go his own way. But Paul went God’s way, which God had prepared for Paul (Acts 21:11-14).
Paul didn’t rebel against the Holy Spirit
Paul had a free will, just like anyone else. But Paul had submitted himself to God. He always listened to the Holy Spirit, and didn’t rebel.
Paul didn’t rebel when the Holy Spirit prevented him from going to a specific country and instructed him to go to another country instead (Acts 16:6-10). He was fully submissive to the Holy Spirit.
Paul had laid down his own life in word and deed. Therefore, Paul was able to follow Jesus.
Maybe Paul had certain dreams and plans for his life. But when Paul had a personal encounter with Jesus, Paul only had one purpose for his life and that was to follow Jesus Christ and to go His way. And so Paul preached, represented, and brought the Kingdom of God to the people. So that Jesus, and through Him, the Father would be honored and exalted.
The will and thoughts of God became Paul’s will and thoughts. Because of that God’s way became Paul’s way. The way of God led to persecution, suffering, and imprisonment. But despite all these things, Paul went God’s way, because Paul loved God above all. (Read also: Do you love God with all your heart?).
Is God’s way your way?
Many times, God’s way is not the easiest and most pleasant way for the flesh to go. But God’s way is the right way to go in this life. Because God’s way is the only way to eternal life.
There is only one way to enter God’s way and walk on God’s way and that’s through Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus Christ is the Way, Truth, and Life. The only question is, are you willing to give up your will, dreams, desires, and (future) plans for Him? Are you willing to submit to Him and do His will, so that God’s way becomes your way?
‘Be the salt of the earth’
