Thought Trains

Psalms 139:23

Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!

Thoughts are so important. Have you ever thought on how often Jesus said “Take no thought”?

Jesus warned his disciples about giving place to worrisome thought patterns. He teaches this disciples to always seek to see and think his way.

I set myself to thinking about thought. Suddenly, over and over I began seeing photos of trains and train tracks. Visuals; God speaks through them a lot. When you see a theme repeated it’s to catch your attention and set you to thinking. What is God saying?

Trains suggest movement. Trains remind us of travel. Tracks are how trains get where they’re going. We catch a train when we have a desired destination in mind. We find a train that’s headed that way and we get on it. See, we’re learning now that our thought becomes action. We think our way onto a train of thought. That’s what Jesus was warning us about. He tells us that he is to be our thought guardian.

Friend, I’ll tell you from long experience that we’re daily having to navigate our way through thought storms. Opposing winds of thoughts set to distract us from hearing the thought of God. Fiery darts. I’ve seen times when I wasn’t being alert and I was quick to follow every thought. I discovered I had followed some wrong trains of thought and had to pause and do some rethinking.

When we react from our soulish emotions, not from the Spirit, we get our thought off God. Worry, focus on bad reports and critical response and offense is where that train of thought takes us. Surely, not a good train to ride.

A thought comes to mind from the word. Psalms 139 says that God knows our thoughts from far off. Before we ever say a word, he knows the thought that takes us there. I saw in the Psalm a glorious revealing. His thoughts over us are precious and numerous. We’re precious in his sight.

Psalms 139:

17–18
Every single moment you are thinking of me!
How precious and wonderful to consider
that you cherish me constantly in your every thought!
O God, your desires toward me are more
than the grains of sand on every shore!
When I awake each morning, you’re still with me. (TPT)

Doesn’t that amaze you? It does me. Almighty God, Creator God, thinks precious thoughts over me. He desires my good above all and everyone I’ve ever known. Abba Father watches over me for my great good. What do I have to worry about?

So, I see now that to stay on a right track with God we have to pay attention to his thoughts. That’s what Jesus was reminding us all about. “Take no thought. Let not your heart be troubled. Stay your mind on what matters. Follow your trust in God.”

How? We can ask him sincerely to help us. to empower our desire to surrender. We can take authority over self and intentionally cooperate with him. To open up our ear gates and let the King of Glory come in. When we surrender our self efforts and yield to his love He writes his thoughts on our hearts and minds. We yearn to let his thoughts overwhelm the thought storms that try to invade. We need his grace invasion. There’s a high price to pay but the anointing of God is what consecrated believers experience.

It will cost us a comfort zone shift. It will interrupt an old routine so that a new one can be established. With our strong resolve set on trusting in his perfect love for us we can better manage our lives and thoughts. Old things pass away and new life resurrections happen. We’re gradually reborn as our minds are renewed.

And soon, because we love his Lordship we think right about ourselves. Then, soon, we will think right about others. When we think right we speak right and we know that words are powerful in God. His words are the bread of life.

Jesus said “My sheep know my voice and they follow me” So it’s for us to get still and listen carefully. Moment by moment we need his instruction. By following it we will feast on his thoughts. The truths of the holy scriptures. That’s the train we want to catch. He will train our ear to hear and impart a new delight in himself. He baptizes us in his love and new birth will keep happening as long as we keep following his way and instruction. His joy will be our portion and even overflow.  Following His train of thought will take us into glory places we’ve never dreamed of!

Lord, I’m thankful and I submit to you being the Engineer of my thought train. I see that peace of heart and mind is the sweet lifestyle of surrendered saints.

I say “Yes, Lord!” I hope that’s true of you too.

Give it all some thought..