“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8)

So how many years have I heard this verse and thought I knew what it was talking about? Many. But I guess I didn’t. Not really, and not until this week when I was reading my chapter a day (this time obviously in Isaiah) and read the verse in its context.

Context. That’s pretty important.


So I have always thought that the verse was talking about how God’s thoughts and ways are way beyond ours, so much so that we cannot comprehend them.

And it is.

But for some reason I thought it was in reference to the way He works things out differently than we would ever imagine.

Which He often does.

But in these verses, it is very specific.

The verse just prior to verse 8 (so 7) reads . . . Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

And there you have it.

God will have mercy. He will pardon freely.

And that is how God’s thoughts and ways are not ours—at least not mine. Because having mercy and pardoning freely are not in my DNA. I want to hold grudges. I like to keep score. I want to withhold forgiveness until I feel it is earned. I, unfortunately, am a Jonah. I want my personal Ninevites to experience God’s judgement not His mercy. I want them to pay.

So it looks like I need to take a lesson from Isaiah 55:7 and “forsake [my] way and unrighteous . . . thought” and turn to the LORD.

And now I am grateful—extremely grateful—that God has mercy and pardons freely.

“You’re not that good to get that mad.”

Yes, I have heard that comment before, and I know it to be true. BUT I am good enough to know that I should be performing better than I am, and that’s when I get frustrated.

We have all experienced frustration. It is that dissonance that occurs when the results don’t match the desire. And it is only made worse when we have invested time, energy, money, and hope into the bargain. And in our expert opinion, we have invested enough of each of these to deserve the desired results.

This happens in all areas of life: hobbies, work, health, relationships.

By definition, frustration, at its core, means to be disappointed, dissatisfied, or thwarted. And at the core of that problem is the belief that all these results should be happening on our timetable and in our way.

I can remember being frustrated after a difficult loss during a college tennis match, and asking my coach when it would all finally come together. Her reply: “It just takes more experience.”

How much more! I wanted to scream, but the answer was kind of obvious — more than I already had. But I didn’t want to hear that answer. I didn’t want to have to go through more experience. I wanted the results and the wins now.

But to want results after we have put in what we believe is the requisite amount of time, money, practice, and work takes God completely out of the equation in two ways. First, if results are dependent only on what we do, then how does that glorify God. Gideon’s army who was to face over 135,000 Midianites was whittled down from 32,000 to 300 for just that reason (even though they were already sorely outnumbered)--to make sure God got the glory, not Gideon or the Israelites. Do we want the desired results for God’s glory or for ours?

Second, how are we to know that there’s not more to learn in the interim? Not only in the arena under question but also in life and spiritual growth. To believe ourselves all-knowing is to put ourselves on par with God. Hmmmm. That has never worked out well.

Frustration is another one of those symptoms that manifests a deeper problem—a heart problem. And if our heart is set on the things of this world, then we are guaranteed to experience frustration.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6: 19-21

I’ve met quite a few people who say they don’t believe in hell. And I, for one, don’t know how they can’t––since we see and experience hell all around us every day.

At its most basic definition, hell is separation from God. Some people don’t mind this concept as they have rejected God already and feel they are doing just fine. But what they don’t realize is that even though they have rejected God, God has not rejected them or the world, and His presence is still very much here.
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Despite all the difficulties in our lives and the evil around us, there are still varying degrees of selflessness, kindness, love, peace, justice, compassion, mercy, grace, forgiveness, truth, and trustworthiness. All actions and emotions that are good come from God.

Take them away and what do you have? Total—Selfishness. Malice. Hatred. Confusion. Anxiety. Injustice. Apathy. Cruelty. Wickedness. Condemnation. Falsehood. Dishonesty. Evil, and every other inhumane action and destructive emotion—with nothing good to counter or offer relief.

I know most people who say they don’t believe in hell are probably talking about a physical place of judgment after death, but I don’t want to or need to argue that point here. If you never accept God and His Son’s sacrifice, then once you die, you are separated from God and all those God qualities for all of eternity, which means it doesn’t matter where you are. You are in hell.

I only knew one of the first three songs. The communion message was a bit rambling  and disjointed. The lead pastor was on vacation and his backup was known for going long even though he spoke in 3x speed—a bad church service in the making. Needless to say, I was not feeling the love this Sunday morning. I was also not feeling the Holy Spirit. All I was feeling was discontent.

And right there ready to take advantage of this discontent was Satan. I could feel myself sliding out of a mood of worship and into my own little pity party because I could be at home watching The Scottish Open on TV.

But I caught myself. Before the fourth song began (of which I was somewhat familiar), the Holy Spirit did get ahold of me, and reminded me that my worship was not the result or responsibility of those in charge of the service, but of the posture of my heart.

I quickly adjusted my heart’s position, zeroed in on the song’s lyrics and focused on the sermon. And guess what? My mind was taught; my spirit filled; and I was blessed.

The morning’s scorecard? Holy Spirit—1. Satan—0.

For those of you who follow golf . . . women’s golf . . . you may have seen the recent final round collapse of one of the USA’s top golfers. Leading by two with only a few holes to go, the golfer missed one short putt after another to fall into second place and miss claiming yet another major championship.

It was hard to watch. It was probably worse to experience.



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This collapse is not unique to this golfer. Many athletes have found themselves within reach of victory only to squander it in the last few minutes. Why? Because when the prize is finally within reach, the pressure not to mess it up is immense.

In the first round, first inning, or first quarter, though the nerves may be playing up, the pressure is minimal. No one is really watching and there are a lot of factors and competitors standing between you and the prize.

But when that victory is in sight and everyone is watching and so much is riding on so little, we often forget what actually got us to this point.

Satan knows this strategy all too well. Right when victory (in whatever life venue we are competing in at that moment) is in sight, he moves our focus off of what got us there (God’s grace, power, strength, and love) and firmly places all the responsibility for success or failure on us, planting in our minds all the ways we can mess it up. And sometimes it doesn’t take much.

Many Biblical characters felt pressure, and some held up while others collapsed. It all depended on whose strength they were relying.

Though saved by God’s grace through his mother and sister’s actions, Moses thought it his responsibility to free his people, so he murdered an Egyptian, was then called out by a fellow Hebrew, and finally ran into hiding . . . for forty years.

Though sold by his own brothers into slavery, Joseph always remembered who was in control. He had plenty of opportunities to collapse under pressure: the seduction by Potiphar’s wife, the unfair prison sentence, the forgotten promise to recommend him. But he didn’t.

The good news is, there is life after collapse. There is always another chance to get it right. Moses did. As did Jonah and Peter, many athletes, and . . . you and me.

It’s not easy to live as a Christian in a very unChristian world. There is tremendous pressure to concede and conform. But remember God’s faithfulness to this point and rely on His strength, and with that renewed perspective watch that pressure begin to disappear.