Excitement bubbles up inside me. How had I missed this Bible verse?
“The righteous person may have many thoughts, but the LORD delivers him from them all.” (Psalm 34:19, NIV)
The words astound me: the LORD delivers us from our thoughts!
Oh, how I need Him to deliver me from my thoughts.
You, too?
I close my eyes, smile, let the words envelop me. I want them to permeate my soul. I open my eyes to read them again…
Wait a minute —
“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.” (Psalm 34:19, NIV)
My overzealous brain switched words on me. It perceived the word ‘thoughts’ in place of ‘troubles.’
This spontaneous adjustment surprised me, so I leaned in closer to determine why it happened.
What does the Holy Spirit want me to know?
At times, our troubles threaten to overshadow us. But how often are our troubles no more than a reflection of our thoughts?
Perhaps you wrestle with one of these thoughts:
- What if I can’t do what needs to be done?
- How will my kiddo survive on his own?
- What if the cancer returns?
- Am I destined to stay single forever?
- What’s the right thing to do for my aging parent?
Maybe none of these are your thoughts, but you have one or two of your own. Look closer at them.
These aren’t genuine troubles. They are merely thoughts — thoughts about what might (or might not!) happen in the future. But they can be powerful.
Believing in Christ doesn’t prevent troubles (John 16:33). Nor does it eliminate negative thoughts.
But Jesus tells us,
“…don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:34, NLT)
Our verse in Psalms (34:19) reminds us: if we’re righteous, God will deliver us from all of our many troubles.
But what do we do about our thoughts? Can we assure they don’t add to our troubles?
Next time, I’ll share some practical ways to take our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Meanwhile, what thoughts of yours “borrow trouble from tomorrow?” I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
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Thank you for this…. Growing up an anxious kid, my mom would say “Look at the birds” as shorthand for that Matthew 6 passage. I love that Jesus says “tomorrow has enough trouble of it’s own” – like, yeah, stuff will happen; Don’t worry about it now, deal with it when it comes – for now, enjoy the view, kid. 🙂
Yes! 😉