How To Know God's Thoughts

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV).

You’ve probably seen that verse on a plaque or poster.

But take a moment to stop and think about it. How do you believe God thinks about you? Are His thoughts toward you for peace? Does He think about giving you a future and a hope?

While I was a deacon, I once knew a man who asked our church for financial assistance. I spoke with the other deacons and we were able to give him some assistance, but we couldn’t cover everything he had asked for. When I visited him and told him, he went into a rage. He focused on what we couldn’t give, instead of what we could give. He screamed and yelled at me and he started yelling at God. He said that God always ruined everything. He said that he always did his best, but God was out to get him. That’s what he believed God’s thoughts were toward him.

What about you? If you feel like God has a heavy hand on you, check whether you have any sin to repent of. Sinning is uncomfortable for the believer. Get rid of that discomfort by repenting and turning back to Jesus.

If you don’t see any unrepented sin in your life and you still think God is out to get you, repent of that. Satan would love to have you try to change God’s thoughts by earning God’s favor. Because trying to earn God’s favor is one of the easiest ways to distract us from salvation in Jesus Christ.

What do you think?
Joseph