Stop Trying to Make God Think Like You
You May Have the Wrong Thought However You Do Not Have to Obey It! Introduction
In the Dominion Short of the same title that preceded this deeper teaching, we confronted a truth that many believers desperately need to understand, You may have the wrong thought. You do not have to obey it.
Now we need to go deeper.
Because some of us have been treating every thought that enters our minds as though it deserves a seat at the table.
IT DOES NOT!
Every thought you think is not truth.
Every thought you think is not from God.
Every thought you think does not represent who you are.
Every thought you think does not deserve to become an action.
Every emotion attached to a thought does not suddenly make that thought righteous.
And every thought that makes sense to you does not necessarily agree with God!
Beloved, this needs to be said with the force of a parent who has already explained something repeatedly and is tired of watching the children continue doing exactly what they were warned not to do, STOP TRYING TO MAKE GOD THINK LIKE YOU!
We have spent far too much time attempting to bring God's Word down to the level of our thinking instead of bringing our thinking into submission to God's Word.
We want God to agree with our relationships.
Agree with our anger.
Agree with our unforgiveness.
Agree with our sexual desires.
Agree with our fear.
Agree with our pride.
Agree with our retaliation.
Agree with our ambitions.
Agree with our political loyalties.
Agree with our financial decisions.
Agree with our bitterness.
Agree with what feels good.
Agree with what culture has normalized.
Agree with whatever conclusion we have already reached.
Then, when scripture contradicts us, instead of changing our thinking, we start looking for a way to change our interpretation of God's Word!
Enough of that nonsense, Beloved!
God is not confused.
God does not need enlightenment.
God does not need cultural updating.
God does not need us to explain why obedience is unreasonable.
WE are the ones whose minds need renewing! Now Let’s Eat Some Meat!
Isaiah 55:6-9 (AMPC) “Seek, inquire for, and require the Lord while He may be found [claiming Him by necessity and by right]; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says 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.”
Look carefully at the order.
SEEK.
CALL.
FORSAKE.
RETURN.
Then God declares, “My thoughts are not your thoughts.”
We love quoting verses 8 and 9, “His ways are higher than our ways.”
Amen!
Make sure you do not jump over verse 7 to get there!
God says, “Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.”
There is something in your thinking that may need to be FORSAKEN!
God does not say, “Bring Me your unrighteous thoughts so I can learn to understand your perspective.”
He does not say, “If you feel strongly enough about it, I will change My standard.”
He says, FORSAKE IT!
Then He says, RETURN TO ME!
This is where modern Christianity can become dangerously self-centered. We sometimes approach scripture asking, “How can I make this fit what I already believe?”
Wrong question!
The question is, “Lord, what do YOU say, and what in ME needs to change in order to agree with YOU?”
There is an enormous difference.
And please hear and understand this carefully, Having a wrong thought is not the same as surrendering to a wrong thought.
Thoughts will come.
Temptation will come.
Fearful thoughts will come.
Angry thoughts will come.
Lustful thoughts may come.
Prideful thoughts may come.
Thoughts of revenge may come.
Thoughts of quitting may come.
Thoughts telling you that God has abandoned you may come.
Thoughts telling you that obedience is too difficult may come.
Thoughts telling you that sin would make you feel better may come.
The arrival of a thought does not give that thought authority!
You may not control every thought that knocks on the door of your mind.
You absolutely have a responsibility concerning which thoughts you invite inside, feed, entertain, believe, and obey!
That brings us directly to another scripture.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (AMPC) “[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”
Did you hear that?
“EVERY THOUGHT”
Scripture does not tell us to negotiate with rebellious thoughts.
It does not tell us to decorate them.
It does not tell us to nurture them.
It does not tell us to post them on social media and find ten people who agree with them.
It says, TAKE THEM CAPTIVE!
If a thought rises against the knowledge of God, arrest it!
If a thought contradicts scripture, arrest it!
If a thought tells you disobedience is acceptable, arrest it!
If a thought tells you revenge is justified, arrest it!
If a thought tells you sexual immorality is acceptable because “God knows my heart,” arrest it!
If a thought tells you unforgiveness is justified because they hurt you, arrest it!
If a thought tells you that your feelings outrank God's instruction, ARREST IT!
Stop allowing unauthorized thoughts to run freely through territory that belongs to Christ! Your mind!
The Context of This Teaching
Isaiah 55 is an extraordinary invitation from God.
The chapter begins with God calling the thirsty to come. He invites people to receive what truly satisfies. He calls His people away from spending themselves on what cannot satisfy them and toward hearing Him.
Then the invitation becomes urgent, “Seek… the Lord while He may be found.”
This is not casual spirituality.
This is not, “Fit God into your schedule whenever convenient.”
This is a call to RETURN!
And returning to God involves more than changing external behavior.
God goes directly after the mind, He says, “Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.”
Notice the relationship, the thoughts influence ways.
How you think eventually affects how you walk.
Wrong thinking tolerated long enough will become wrong believing.
Wrong believing tolerated long enough will become wrong choosing.
Wrong choosing repeated long enough will become a sinful pattern.
Then eventually people defend the pattern because they have lived with it so long that it feels normal.
This is why God addresses thoughts AND ways.
He is not merely interested in stopping the visible behavior.
God wants the thinking underneath the behavior surrendered to Him!
And then comes the magnificent promise.
When the sinner turns back to God, God does not say, “Stay away until you get yourself together.”
Scripture says plainly,“He will have love, pity, and mercy for him… for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon.”
That is grace!
Real repentance does not run from God.
Real repentance runs to God.
Yet repentance means I cannot run to God while dragging my rebellion behind me and demanding He approve it.
I come saying, “Lord, my thinking was wrong, my way was wrong, your thoughts are higher, your ways are higher, please change me.”
That is surrender.
Relevance to Today’s Believers
This teaching could hardly be more relevant, because we live in an age where people are constantly told;
Follow your heart.
Trust your feelings.
Live your truth.
Do whatever makes you happy.
Yet scripture repeatedly warns us that human thinking apart from God is not a trustworthy final authority.
The believer does not live according to “my truth.”
The believer submits to THE TRUTH, Jesus Christ!
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Therefore, when my thinking and His Word collide, my thinking loses!
Let me make this painfully practical.
You can think, “I cannot forgive them.” However, God says forgive.
You can think, “I need this relationship even though it continually pulls me away from Christ.” However, God says choose Him first.
You can think, “Everybody is doing it.” However, God did not call everybody to be your standard.
You can think, “I deserve revenge.” However, God says vengeance belongs to Him.
You can think, “I am too damaged for God to use.” However, God's grace says otherwise.
You can think, “I have fallen too many times.” However, God says return.
You can think, “This temptation is too strong.” However God provides a way of escape.
You can think, “Nobody knows, so it doesn't matter.” However, God knows.
You can think, “This is just who I am.” However, Christ calls us to transformation.
A thought can feel completely real and still be completely wrong!
Believers must stop confusing mental presence with spiritual permission.
The thought appeared, fine.
Now what are you going to DO with it? Take it captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus, or allow it to run free in disobedience to Christ Jesus?
That is where spiritual maturity begins.
Supporting Scriptures
Romans 12:2 (AMPC) “Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].”
Transformation requires renewed thinking.
Notice Paul does not merely say, “Behave differently.”
He addresses the mind.
Why?
Because if your behavior changes while your thinking remains committed to sin, eventually your behavior will follow your thinking again.
God wants transformation from the inside out.
The question is not merely, “What am I doing?”
The question is, “How am I THINKING?”
Because your mind cannot continually feast on the world's values and then consistently produce Kingdom living.
Philippians 4:8 (AMPC) “For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].”
Paul tells us what deserves sustained mental attention.
TRUE.
HONORABLE.
JUST.
PURE.
LOVELY.
GRACIOUS.
VIRTUOUS.
EXCELLENT.
PRAISEWORTHY.
The question is not simply what entered your mind.
Now the question becomes, What are you fixing your mind upon?
You can feed a thought until it becomes enormous.
Or you can starve it by refusing to continually entertain it.
Stop feeding thoughts you are praying for God to deliver you from!
Colossians 3:1-2 (AMPC) “If then you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.”
Did you catch the language?
“SET your minds and KEEP them set.”
That requires intentional effort.
You cannot live mentally undisciplined all week, absorb everything culture throws at you, entertain every temptation, rehearse every offense, magnify every fear, and then wonder why your spiritual thinking is weak.
SET YOUR MIND!
Then when it wanders, SET IT AGAIN!
And when it wanders again, SET IT AGAIN!
And when it wanders yet again, that’s right, SET IT AGAIN!
Spiritual discipline is not demonstrated by never having to redirect your thinking.
Sometimes spiritual discipline is demonstrated by how quickly and often you redirect it.
James 1:14-15 (AMPC) “But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.”
James shows us progression.
Temptation does not need to become sin.
The thought does not need to become action.
The desire does not need to become obedience.
There is a point where something is entertained, embraced, and allowed to conceive.
You can and should, interrupt the process!
Stop waiting until the wrong thought has become a wrong action before you start fighting it.
Fight it when it is still a thought!
TAKE IT CAPTIVE EARLY!
Proverbs 3:5-7 (AMPC) “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil.”
There it is again. STOP MAKING YOURSELF THE FINAL AUTHORITY!
Your reasoning has limitations.
Your emotions have limitations.
Your experiences have limitations.
Your perspective has limitations.
God does not.
Faith often means saying, “Lord, what You said does not agree with what I currently feel, yet I trust YOU more than I trust ME.”
That is maturity in the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (AMPC) “The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]? I the Lord search the mind, I try the heart, even to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
This scripture destroys the popular command to blindly “follow your heart.”
No! You are to Follow CHRIST!
Your heart must also be submitted to Him.
Something can feel right and still be spiritually wrong.
Something can feel unfair and still require obedience.
Something can feel justified and still be sin.
Your feelings are real, however they are not Lord.
Jesus is Lord!
1 Corinthians 10:13 (AMPC) “For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.”
Stop saying, “I had no choice.”
You may have faced enormous temptation.
You may have been emotionally exhausted.
You may have been lonely.
You may have been angry.
You may have been hurt.
You may have desperately wanted relief.
None of those realities make God unfaithful.
Scripture says He provides a way out.
The thought may come.
The temptation may come.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO OBEY IT! Reflection and Spiritual Insight
Now we need to stop examining everybody else's thinking and examine our own.
What thoughts have I been entertaining that God told me to capture?
What sinful behavior began as a thought I refused to confront?
Have I been asking God to agree with me rather than asking Him to correct me?
When scripture contradicts what I want, do I submit or search for someone who will reinterpret scripture until I feel comfortable?
Am I rehearsing offenses in my mind?
Am I feeding lust privately while trying to appear holy publicly?
Am I feeding fear and calling it wisdom?
Am I feeding bitterness and calling it discernment?
Am I feeding pride and calling it confidence?
Am I feeding rebellion and calling it independence?
Am I feeding compromise and calling it grace?
STOP RENAMING WHAT GOD IS TRYING TO REMOVE!
Here is spiritual maturity, “Lord, this thought is in my head, yet it does not agree with You. Therefore, it cannot stay in control.”
You do not have to pretend the thought never appeared.
You do not have to lie and say you were never tempted.
You do not have to fake spiritual perfection.
Take it captive!
The victory is not always that the thought never came.
The victory is that the thought came and you refused to bow to it.
Application to Modern Faith
Identify the Thought: Stop allowing vague mental warfare, name what you are thinking.
Test the Thought: Ask whether it agrees with scripture.
Reject the Lie: If it contradicts God's Word, stop defending it.
Replace It With Truth: Do not merely empty your mind of error, fill it with God's Word.
Refuse to Feed It: Stop repeatedly consuming whatever strengthens the very thought you claim to be fighting.
Take It Captive Quickly: Do not give sinful thinking time to establish residence.
Obey God Anyway: You do not have to feel like obeying before you obey.
And this needs to be said, OBEDIENCE DOES NOT REQUIRE EMOTIONAL AGREEMENT FIRST!
You can forgive while your emotions are still healing.
You can remain sexually pure while desire is screaming.
You can worship while discouraged.
You can pray while your mind is under attack.
You can tell the truth when lying would be easier.
You can refuse revenge while still hurting.
You can obey God while part of you wants to do the exact opposite.
That is one reason taking thoughts captive matters.
We do not wait for every rebellious thought to disappear before obeying Christ.
We make those thoughts bow to Christ!
Five Checkpoints for Every Believer
Does This Thought Agree With God's Word?
2 Corinthians 10:5 (AMPC) “[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”
Before believing the thought, test it.
Does it agree with Christ?
If not, CAPTURE IT!
Do not allow a thought that rebels against Christ to become the commander of your behavior.
Am I Renewing My Mind or Feeding My Old Thinking?
Romans 12:2 (AMPC) “Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].”
What is shaping your thinking?
God's Word?
Or culture?
Social media?
Your friends?
Your wounds?
Your desires?
Your flesh?
Whatever continually feeds your mind will eventually influence your life.
Am I Confusing a Thought With a Command?
Philippians 4:8 (AMPC) “For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].”
Just because you thought it does not mean you need to follow it.
You decide where sustained attention goes.
Stop giving permanent residence to thoughts that should have been evicted immediately!
Am I Trusting God's Wisdom Above My Own?
Proverbs 3:5-7 (AMPC) “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil.”
When your reasoning and God's Word disagree, who wins?
If the answer is consistently you, then God is not functioning as Lord in that area. You are.
Stop trying to make God think like you. Start asking God to teach YOU to think like HIM!
When I Discover Wrong Thinking, Am I Willing to Forsake It and Return to God?
Isaiah 55:6-9 (AMPC) “Seek, inquire for, and require the Lord while He may be found [claiming Him by necessity and by right]; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says 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.”
This is where everything comes together.
God reveals the wrong thought.
What happens next?
Do you defend it?
Rationalize it?
Hide it?
Rename it?
Find people who agree with it?
Or do you say, “Lord, You are right. I am wrong. I forsake this thinking. I return to You.”
And look at what awaits the person who genuinely returns;
LOVE.
PITY.
MERCY.
ABUNDANT PARDON.
God is not calling you to repentance because He wants to destroy you.
He is calling you out of thinking that IS destroying you!
Summary
The message of Isaiah 55:6-9 is not merely that God's thoughts are mysterious and higher than ours.
It is also a direct confrontation with human pride.
His thoughts are higher, therefore ours must submit.
And this is where the Dominion Short becomes painfully practical, You May Have the Wrong Thought However You Do Not Have to Obey It!
You will have thoughts that need correction, and for the record so will I.
The issue is not whether every thought entering your mind is perfect.
The issue is what authority you give that thought after it arrives.
You can think something without believing it.
You can feel something without obeying it.
You can be tempted without surrendering.
You can be angry without becoming sinful.
You can be afraid without allowing fear to become your master.
You can experience lust without feeding it.
You can remember an offense without rehearsing revenge.
You can hear the voice of your flesh screaming for gratification and still tell your flesh, NO!
Why?
Because Jesus Christ is Lord, not your thoughts!
Somebody needs to stop saying, “That's just how I think.”
Then CHANGE HOW YOU THINK!
Renew your mind!
Take the thought captive!
Somebody needs to stop saying, “That's just how I feel.”
Your feelings are real, however they are not your Lord!
Somebody needs to stop saying, “God understands why I did it.”
Yes, God understands everything, but understanding your weakness does not transform disobedience into obedience!
Enough excuses.
Enough rationalizing.
Enough twisting scripture.
Enough asking God to bless what He told you to forsake.
Enough making feelings sovereign.
Enough making culture authoritative.
Enough making yourself the judge of whether God's Word is reasonable.
GOD IS GOD!
His thoughts are higher.
His ways are higher.
His wisdom is higher.
His holiness is higher.
His perspective is higher.
And when your thinking rises up against His truth, TAKE THAT THOUGHT CAPTIVE!
When your flesh says obey me, TAKE THAT THOUGHT CAPTIVE!
When fear says run, TAKE THAT THOUGHT CAPTIVE!
When lust says indulge, TAKE THAT THOUGHT CAPTIVE!
When pride says you know better, TAKE THAT THOUGHT CAPTIVE!
When bitterness says never forgive, TAKE THAT THOUGHT CAPTIVE!
When Satan whispers something contrary to God's Word, TAKE THAT THOUGHT CAPTIVE!
And when your own reasoning tells you something that contradicts God, TAKE YOUR OWN THOUGHT CAPTIVE TOO!
Because the objective is not to make God think more like us.
The objective is for us to become increasingly transformed until we think, choose, walk, and live in submission to HIM!
Question For Today
When a thought in your mind contradicts the Word of God, are you taking that thought captive and making it obey Christ, or are you still trying to make God change His mind so you can keep obeying yours?
If You Have Ears to Hear, Then Hear It!
I pray for you each and every day.
All God's Best!
Karl McKinnie
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