Sometimes, I envision this imaginary scenario in which my thoughts are projected onto a large screen, much like a slideshow presentation, where anyone can see what’s going on in my mind. If you’re like me, you’re terrified by this concept that’s not always so “imaginary.” Why? Well, because God does have a “slideshow,” if you will, available to Him. As just one example, Psalm 139:2b says this about God: “You know my thoughts before I think them.” So, the real question is: why does it bother me less that God knows these things than it does that other people might find out about them?

 

I may have discovered an answer to this question, or should I say, God showed me an answer. His Word confronted me with a higher standard than the one to which I often hold myself. This “smack upside the head” happened when I read Psalm 104:33-34: ³³ “I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. ³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.” What stood out to me was the first part of verse 34, which in the New Century Version reads, “May my thoughts please Him.” Then that verse reminded me of Proverbs 4:23, which warns us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Or, as it reads, once again, in the New Century Version, “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.”

 

I tend to live like my private thoughts are private until I remember that God knows all; He knows my thoughts before I think them. I should ask, “are my thoughts pleasing God?” not “are my thoughts hidden from other people and therefore not a big deal?” What goes on in my mind is critical, not only because God knows all about it, but because my thoughts run my life. It works like the quote attributed to Samuel Smiles:

 

Sow a thought, and you reap an act;

Sow an act, and you reap a habit;

Sow a habit, and you reap a character;

Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.

 

God knows the power of our hearts and minds; therefore, He tells us to guard them and to understand how much our thoughts influence our lives, for better or for worse. Instead of fearing the “slideshow,” I want to remember that what matters is the images that are included, not whether or not anyone can see them. So, I press on, striving to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5b). I want God to find great joy, not pain, in knowing my thoughts.