Wrong thoughts will paint the wrong pictures in your mind. They'll tell you things are worse than they are.
What would you say if I asked you to tell me the biggest problem you're facing right now? Would you say your finances? Family problems? Sickness? Job frustrations? Your weight? If you said any of those, in fact, if you listed any circumstance at all, I have some startling news for you. You're mistaken!

I can tell you without even knowing the details of your life that, if you're a born-again believer, money is not your problem. Sickness is not your problem. Your family, weight, job, background, lack of education...none of these things are your problem.

Your problem is the way you've been thinking about these things.

Patterns Of Thought
In 2 Kings 6:24, God gives us a dramatic illustration of what a difference your thought patterns can make, even in the worst of situations. He tells us of a time when the city of Samaria was in deep trouble. An enemy king had surrounded it with fortified troops and put it under total siege. No one could go into the city and no one could go out.

And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver. (That's worse than a recession folks! It's worse than any economic depression any of us have ever seen!)

And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. And he said, "If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee?"

This king was saying, "Look, lady, the government is just as broke as you are. What do you expect us to do?"

This situation had gone way beyond serious. It was pathetic, and tragically hopeless. Listen to what the king said next:

He said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day…Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any longer?

All he knew to do was get mad at the preacher and blame the problem on God. Have you ever had thoughts like that? Well, sure you have! We all have!

But when the king sent someone to cut off Elisha's head, Elisha delivered a surprising message from the Lord:

Then Elisha said, "Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria."
(2 Kings 7:1)

Don't you know those words were a shock to those who heard them? Here they are in the midst of the most desperate situation they've ever seen. There's no sign of hope anywhere and the prophet of God says, "Hey, good news! This is all going to be over by tomorrow and we'll all be enjoying prosperity!"

God wasn't the one creating the disaster. He was the One with the solution to it. Yet, instead of rejoicing over this thrilling word of hope,

A Lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he; Elisha said, "Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof" (v. 2).

Thinking Negative Thoughts
This man, who actually served as the "vice president" of Samaria, didn't respond to God's Word in faith. He responded to it with skepticism. He thought, "Even if God got involved, this situation is too bad to be turned around now!" His thinking was so geared toward the negative that he couldn't even imagine a positive turn of events.

As all this was going on, there were four lepers sitting outside the city's gates. They'd been thinking negative, fear-filled thoughts just like everyone else. But then, something happened.

When Elisha spoke God's plan, the Holy Spirit moved on these men. Suddenly, their thinking changed. They didn't know it, but they began thinking the thoughts of God.

And they said one to another, why sit we here until we die? If we say, "We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die."
(2 Kings 7:3-4)

Do you see the change in their thought pattern? Up to that time, they had been famine thinkers and leprosy thinkers. But now they were saying, "Why are we just sitting here waiting to die? Let's do something!"

Actions Follow Thoughts
When their thinking changed, their actions changed. Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for themselves, they jumped up and headed toward the Syrian camp. Do you know what they discovered when they arrived? No one was there! The camp was abandoned. It was filled with an abundance of food and clothing and supplies, but all the soldiers were gone.

These lepers had stumbled onto a spiritual law. It's this: When hard times come, they're never as hard as they look—unless you're looking in the wrong place, through the wrong eyes, thinking the wrong thoughts, and imitating the wrong people.

As a born-again believer, you're in much the same situation. God has already moved on your behalf. "He sent Jesus to the cross to bear your sickness, weakness and pain" (Isa. 53:4-5). "He healed you by His stripes" (1 Peter 2:24). "He became poor so you could be rich" (2 Cor. 8:9). He covenanted with you to meet all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19). He has given you "all things that pertain unto life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3).

The only thing powerful enough to keep you from receiving those things is your own thinking. Wrong thoughts will paint the wrong pictures in your mind. They'll tell you things are worse than they are. They'll tell you that you can't do what it takes to succeed in life. But I'm here to tell you that you can succeed!

We Must Have A Change Of Mind
If we want to live the kind of life God has in mind for us, we must trade our thoughts for His thoughts. We must lay down the perspectives we've gained through past experiences and instead pick up the wisdom of God. Just look at what Proverbs says about the importance of that wisdom:

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee…She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
(Prov. 4:7-9)

Acquiring the wisdom of God is the number one top priority in our lives. Some people think prayer is top priority. But prayer without wisdom won't get you anywhere.

God's Wisdom Is His Word
Do you want to know the thoughts of God? Do you want to know the wisdom of God? Well, go get your Bible, open it up, and read it! If you're holding a Bible, you have God's wisdom right there in your hand. Do you know what wicked means? It means twisted.

Twisted thoughts produce twisted results. Poor thinking produces poverty. Sick thinking produces sickness. You can't hold onto those kinds of thoughts and walk in the power of God.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord" (Isa. 55:8). Let's face it. God is just plain smarter than we are. He's been around a lot longer, and what He thinks is a whole lot different than what we've been thinking.

So let the Word of God, the wisdom of God, begin to influence your thinking. Soak your mind in it. Don't just scan it lightly. Dig in it. Learn it. Take it seriously.

Remember that wisdom is the principal thing. God's way of thinking will save your life, pull you out of debt, and put you on the road to prosperity. It will introduce you to possibilities you have never seen before. They're out there now...just beyond your thinking.

So quit focusing on your seemingly hopeless situation, get your Bible out, and say—just like the leper—"Why sit we here till we die?" Then get moving. There's a word full of abundance just waiting for you.

Excerpt permission granted by
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka:  Kenneth Copeland Ministries