“O Lord, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep.”
Psalms 92:5 NKJV
Have you ever read a verse that stopped you in your track and you had to read it over and over? That was me, today, with this one.
“Your thoughts are very deep,” exclaims the Psalmist in a song for the Sabbath day.
I’m not ashamed to admit I never pondered the depth of His thoughts before. I know the verse that speaks of His ways as being higher than ours – but this revelation was something more. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
The Blue letter Bible gives us some more insight into the meaning of that verse:
maḥăšāḇâ – “thought”: intention, plan (whether bad, a plot; or good, advice): … imagination, invented, means, purpose, thought.
mᵊ‘ōḏ: “very”: expresses the idea of exceedingly, greatly, very (whether of magnitude or degree)
ʿāmaq: “deep”: (literally or figuratively):—(be, have, make, seek) deep(-ly), depth, be profound.
The word in the Hebrew for deep – ʿāmaq – is used 9 times in the Old Testament and is most frequently used to describe something profoundly evil or the depths of the earth. It gives the idea of a pit that goes far into the earth of which there is no bottom or end. It just keeps going farther and farther down.
When I was younger, I often dreamt of falling off of a cliff into a deep, deep hole – so deep I was lost and there was no way out. The sides were slick, the hole dark, the air still and eerily quiet. Still I fell on and on, father and farther until I awoke. Over and over I dreamt the same dream, waking up at various places while I was free falling. Until one day it stopped.
When I began to understand dream interpretation, I discovered the dream could mean a fear of failure, lack of self confidence, or feeling insecure in some area. That made sense to me.
The dreams stopped as G-d began to heal deep areas of my psyche through renewing my thoughts to align with the truth in His Word. He met me in the deepest, darkest place of of my thoughts and memories because He was already there, and the Truth of His Word was the light that pulled me out.
His intentions for me, His thoughts about me, His plans for my life, His solution to the thing I’m facing are far, far beyond my reach.
His intentions for you, His thoughts about you, His plans for your life, His solution to the thing you are facing are far, far beyond your reach.
We could say “Your plans, imagination, intention, and ideas about {INSERT YOU, WHAT YOU ARE FACING, FEARS, BELIEFS, CHALLENGES, ETC} are exceedingly profound and immeasurable!!”
As an introvert, I’m a deep thinker with thousands of “tabs” open in my mind. Sometimes I’ll ponder something for days and hours after a conversation I’ll come up with something I wish I would have said. I’ve not always loved that part about me.
But today – today as I sit and ponder some deep thoughts, I am extremely comforted knowing that HE THINKS DEEP THOUGHTS TOO!!!
His character, His goodness, His imagination, His plans, and His intentions for me, for you, and for His people are far beyond our comprehension. Not only are His ways higher and above – but they are deeper and beyond – out of reach.
Instead of the mental gymnastics I put myself through to try and reason or rationalize something hoping to figure out the “why,” I will pause, with intention, and meditate on Him, His goodness, and His ways. He already has the answer and knows the way out or through the thing before me. And in time, in the waiting, I can find peace and knowing that He already has it figured out. It’s only in stillness and rest will I find peace in the deep, profound, intense plans, imagination, and thoughts of G-d.
Father – You are GOOD! How You speak to me blows my mind! Simple yet profound truth in Your Word. Indeed Your thoughts are very deep! Align me with You, Your Word, and Your way of thinking. You are good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted. Amen.
Daily Reading: Psalms 81, 88, 92-93