December 29, 2006

Our Thoughts and God's Thoughts

Isaiah 55:6-13

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

— 

A pastor once told this story to the children in his church.

He showed them a pumpkin and an acorn, and he said he could never figure out why God had created such a small seed for a large tree and why he had created such a large gourd for such a small plant. It seemed that in a creation that was proportional an oak tree should have a large seed, about the size of a pumpkin, and a small plant like a pumpkin vine should have a small seed, about the size of an acorn. But then he went on to explain that one day while he was walking through the woods, an acorn fell and hit him on the head--and suddenly he realized that God must know exactly what he is doing.

Often in life we see and experience things that don't seem to make sense to us, and just as often we are called to trust that God knows what he is doing. God reminds us of this when he says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways ... As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Even in the confusion of life, we can be assured that when things do not make sense to us, God knows what he is doing and we can trust him to care for us.

God of all creation, we acknowledge that our thoughts are not your thoughts and our ways are not your ways. Help us to trust in you and your ways. For Jesus' sake, Amen.

About the author — Joel Sheeres

Rev. Joel Sheeres is the pastor at First Christian Reformed Church in Crown Point, Indiana. He and his wife, Christine, have three children. Pastor Sheeres has previously served at Faith Christian Reformed Church in Elmhurst, Illinois.

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