When God speaks, it is accomplished. He spoke and the world was formed. His word does not return empty. It has purpose and it accomplishes its purpose. God speaks and it will be.

What does He want to accomplish? He wants us to go out with joy. He wants us to walk in peace. He wants us to walk in blessing. He will accomplish it. His word doesn’t come back having not accomplished His purposes.

What else does the Lord purpose? To abundantly pardon! I love that this is what precedes the famous lines about how God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and neither are His ways.

We’re encouraged to seek the Lord and call on Him while He’s near and can be found. The wicked and unrighteous are told to leave their ways and return to the Lord.

Notice the “return.” They were with God to begin with. He wants them back. They had wandered off.

It’s in this context, of the turn from your wicked ways and return to the Lord so that the Lord can have compassion and abundantly pardon, that we’re told God’s thoughts and ways are not our own.

We may think that God wouldn’t or shouldn’t forgive one that has wandered off and neglected their God and His salvation, but we know from Jesus that God goes after the one that wanders. He seeks the one and brings them back to the flock. We may think it unwise to leave 99 sheep unattended to go after the one troublemaker, but our thoughts are not His. His ways are different. God’s way is to show compassion and to forgive.

His thoughts and ways may be different from man’s, but we should seek to know His thoughts and ways and make them our own. He won’t think and act our way, but we should think and act His.