“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).

Something remarkable happened years ago. There was a family we fellowshipped with every Saturday at their residence. They had a son, Jomiloju, who was barely two years old at the time. On one particular day, Jomiloju began speaking to me and continued for several minutes. I kept nodding and responding with “okay,” “hmm,” and “yes,” though I was not truly engaging him.

Eventually, his mother asked, “Are you even listening to what he’s saying?”

To be honest, up until that moment, all I had heard were baby sounds—“da do weh goo.” I did not even believe he could speak coherently, much less communicate in a way that required intellectual engagement. It was only after her question that I intentionally began to listen more carefully. To my surprise, his words began to make sense—clearer, meaningful, and deserving of a thoughtful response.

The same is true for many of us in our walk with God.

Often, when God speaks, we dismiss His voice because it does not fit within the limits of our understanding. We assume He is not communicating clearly, when in reality, not only are we failing to listen attentively, but we are also not equipped with enough of the Word within us to properly decipher and cross-reference what God is saying. Though His thoughts are higher than ours, His Word elevates our thinking and brings our understanding into frequency with His.

Apostle Paul describes this, “For the word of God is quick (living) and powerful… and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The Word has the power to renew and reshape our thoughts until they align with God’s own thoughts.

Just as Jomiloju had to be coherent to qualify for an intelligible conversation with me, we too must elevate not only our attention but also our knowledge if we are to understand God rightly. God speaks constantly—through and with everything around us—guiding, instructing, and correcting us. Apostle Paul admonishes us, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16). Otherwise, it may be said of us, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me” (Isaiah 29:13).

When the rhema of His Word meets the resident Word within us, inspiration is born. This, in essence, is one of the primary ways by which God leads His people.

Continued…