Think: More Than You Should Be

If researchers had predicted my future at birth, their conclusions would have likely been bleak. They would have factored in my race, absent father and socioeconomic status, and used words like “poverty,” “dropout,”  and “teen pregnancy” to describe what was ahead.  With statistics in hand, they might have checked off their little boxes, before putting my life in a box and slapping on their labels. They would have compared me to others born into similar circumstances and predicted that my life would run a similarly hopeless course.

But God.

In the face of seemingly insurmountable circumstances, He intervened. He went beyond what human wisdom said I should be, created something meaningful with my life, and taught me to begin thinking of myself the same way He does.

It reminds me of Gideon’s story. He was from a “weak” clan and considered the “least” of his father’s house, yet the Lord called him “mighty” and gave him a great work to do. He had to begin seeing himself as more than he was, and capable of doing more than he should be able to. After a little coaxing, he began to think of himself what God already thought of Him and went on to do what the Lord had chosen him to do. He had to think more.

It wasn’t easy for Gideon and it’s never easy for us. Thinking less takes much less work than thinking ourselves capable of being, doing and achieving more. I’ll leave you with a little reminder of the Father’s thoughts about us and invite you, one more time, to think more. Come back for a little more tomorrow (and forgive my silly overuse of the word “more”).

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

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