Beyond What You Can Imagine

“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.’” Isaiah 55:8 (NLT)

I may face seemingly impossible challenges in life. Something that couldn’t be solved without a miracle?

When that time comes, I’ll have a choice. I can wait on God’s timing and his way. Or I can take matters into my own hands and try to make a miracle happen myself.

But the truth is that miracles don’t come from the places I expect them. And they don’t come as a result of my own effort. The source of a miracle is always unexpected.

Take Abraham, for example. God told Abraham that he was going to have a son, and that the son would be the father of a great nation. Abraham was nearly 100 years old, and he and his wife had no children. It would take a miracle to make it happen.

But Abraham had trouble believing God’s promise, and he didn’t wait on God to work a miracle. Instead, he took matters into his own hands and had a child with a woman who wasn’t his wife.

That wasn’t God’s plan. God’s plan had been to work a miracle in Abraham’s wife, Sarah. Abraham’s solution was inferior to God’s.

The same is true for me. My way of making things happen is always second best—God’s way is best.

Sometimes it’s hard to understand God’s plan. In fact, if I could always understand God, I would be God. But I'm not! Isaiah 55:8 says, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine’” (NLT).

Miracles always come in unexpected ways. So there’s no need to fret, fear, or try to figure it out.  

Trust God and say, “I don’t know how God is going to do it, but I know he will do it.”

Then simply obey and follow where God leads. And get ready for a miracle.

In summary:

Isaiah 55:8 reminds me that God’s thoughts and ways are far beyond my own, especially when facing challenges that seem impossible. When I try to force solutions in my own strength—like Abraham did—I often settle for something less than God’s best. Miracles don’t come from my effort or logic; they come from God’s unexpected and perfect timing. Even when I can’t see or understand His plan, we can trust that He is working. My role is to wait patiently, obey faithfully, and believe confidently that God will come through—just not always in the way I expect.

Bottom Line:

God’s way is always better than mine—when I trust His timing and surrender control, I open the door for miracles I could never create on my own.