What I See, What I Think Dictates What I Do
Updated: May 7
"Saul replied, 'When I SAW that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I THOUGHT, Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor. So I FELT COMPELLED TO offer the burnt offering.'" (I Samuel 13:11-12, emphasis mine)
What we see, what we think—if not viewed and considered through the lens of God's true Holy Word—will undermine our faith. Every. Single. Time. In such moments, if we don't quickly recognize the error of our fleshly mindset, then, like King Saul, our feelings and fleshly compulsions will dictate the moment. And what will result is disobedience that's equal to this king's disobedience when, overruled by his own thoughts, he did not wait on Samuel, as he had been clearly instructed to do; and equal to Eve's disobedience in the Garden of Eden when, deceived by the voice of the Serpent, she spoke and acted contrarily against God's command.
Such actions are not conducive to the life of faith we are called to live as disciples of Christ.
While He walked this earth, Jesus—"the Word made flesh"— saw, thought, and responded in accordance with God's declared words. The realities He saw around him were filtered by what He thought, which was continually in alignment and oneness with His Father's voice, so that what resulted every time was obedience. Even in the wilderness, weak and weary from hunger, when tempted by Satan to take matters into His own hands, Jesus consistently declared, "It is written. . ." (Matthew 4:1-11). And in the dark suffering of Gethsemane's Garden, when tempted to think differently than the realities of his Father's good and perfect will (evidenced by his words, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me"), still, the Savior uttered." Yet not as I will, but as your will" (Matthew 26:39).
We, too, must be like our Teacher and Master.
At its foundation, faith is seeing beyond and thinking above our what is, considering instead what God says over us and over our realities. It's keeping an intentional focus, come what may, on what we know to be our wise Creator's mindset. Even if our flesh feels otherwise.
When you and I practice doing this, the often-bombarding daily temptations to follow our fleshly compulsions will just not get the best of us.
Some Imperative Final Thoughts:
It's impossible to rightly see our realities and rightly think our thoughts, apart from knowing what God says. We cannot view rightly and process rightly, apart from reading and understanding God's Word.
We simply cannot recognize earthly lies, apart from heavenly Truth.
And, if we don't see and think and recognize rightly, then we will not speak and do rightly.
This is why as a disciple of Christ it's crucial we remain in constant fellowship with the Spirit of Jesus, through daily ingestion of the Word and continual, honest conversation with our Heavenly Father.
