What does God mean when He says, “my thoughts are higher than your thoughts” in Isaiah 55:9?

Answer

In a beautiful passage in Isaiah 55, the Lord calls out to Israel to return to Him and reminds them that only He can provide what they need. He then states, “For 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” (verses 8–9). A caring parent does things for a child that the child doesn’t comprehend. Similarly, the Lord loves, guides, protects, and provides for us in ways we cannot grasp. His thoughts surpass ours. As an infinite Being with infinite wisdom, God knows and comprehends things we cannot. We act wisely when we submit to that understanding rather than insist that He conforms to our ways.

We exist in a material world, so our natural focus is mainly on our physical needs. However, when our thoughts are fixated on worldly matters, we overlook what God intends to reveal to us. He transcends time and space. His thoughts always encompass the bigger picture. Our thoughts are earthly; His are heavenly. Our thoughts are restricted; His are boundless and unfathomable.

When God assures that “all things work together for the good to them who love God and are called according to His purpose” «And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. », (Romans 8:28), His definition of good may not align with ours. We may not perceive our challenges as leading to anything beneficial because we cannot foresee the future. We are unaware of how God’s work in our lives will impact ourselves and numerous others. He sees the complete picture; we only see a fragment. Enveloped in our limited thoughts, we cannot comprehend God’s higher plan. This is why we must rely on His character when we are unable to comprehend.

In Jeremiah 29:11, God conveys someOf His higher thoughts toward Israel: “For I know the plans I have for you, . . . plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” In this verse, God promised that the Israelites, exiled in Babylon, would one day return to their homeland. He encouraged them not to give up or think that the Lord had abandoned them. His thoughts toward them were higher than they could imagine, and they had to put their faith in His promises, even while enduring His discipline (2 Kings 21:14; Jeremiah 29:14). God was reminding His children that He can see around corners and into a future that they could not see. As God’s children today, we can also claim this verse, knowing that God’s thoughts toward each of us are on a higher plane than our own.

When God allows sorrow and pain to enter the lives of His beloved children, it is because His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He intends to use our difficulties to produce the character of Christ in us “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”, (Romans 8:29). He comforts us in our troubles so that we can learn to comfort others “who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”, (2 Corinthians 1:4). His goals for us are higher than our goals for ourselves because His thoughts always have an eternal dimension. Our experiences are small pieces in a giant puzzle that stretches across human history from beginning to end. We may not understand our part in the puzzle, but we can trust that God does. As we surrender to His plan, we set aside our earth-bound thoughts.

Let’s trust in the Lord with all our hearts and allow His higher thoughts to direct our paths (see Proverbs 3:5-6).