I Think Therefore I Am

“I think, therefore I am," claims Descartes, a famous philosopher that lived from 1596 to 1650. Descartes grew up around the time when Catholicism was very strong and had a great deal of influence over the European world. He was a believer and well educated.

This one statement, along with many of his other philosophical assertions, was so influential and powerful that we still talk it about today. I bring him because the idea ‘I think, therefore I am’ has powerful biblical undertones as well.

It goes without saying what we think about ourselves determines ultimately who we become. The Bible mentions the word think 122 times alone. Some of its other variations share near that number, if not more (31 times for the word thinking, 132 times for the word thought, 40 times for the word thoughts, just to name a few).

If we want to put it in a biblical perspective, we can say this:

"As a man thinketh, so he is." - Proverbs 23:7 KJV

Now, why is this important?

Because as I’ve stated: What we think about ourselves determines who we become.

Or put another way: What we allow ourselves to imagine manifests into our lives.

It may not be immediate, it may not happen in the short term, but over time, we will shape our behaviors and mannerisms into the image of who we ‘think’ we are.

I’m ugly

I’m fat

I’m not good at x or y thing

I can’t possibly become famous

I can’t read well

I can’t get into management

The list goes on, but the first part of this thought is that we believe it, so it becomes true. This is one of the Enemy’s greatest deceptions. If he can make us believe something, then he can use it against us to our detriment. He can take the power to imagine a reality, which is a God-given gift, and push us in a direction contrary to how Abba sees us.

"‘For I know the thoughts I think towards you,’ says the Lord. 'Thoughts of good and not of evil. That you may have a future and a hope.'" - Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

"I can’t," is a simply denial of our capacity to do.

It is a denial of our own authority given to us through Christ. It’s like as if we are making a royal decree, proclaiming something that isn’t as if it were. But wait, doesn’t this sound familiar?

"As it is written: 'I have made you a father of many nations.' He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not." - Romans 4:17

In Romans 4:17, the last part of the verse makes a statement about God ‘calling things that are not as if they were’.

Jesus also makes the statement:

“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” - John 5:19

So, here is a pattern laid out by both Adonai and Jesus. If God calls things to be that aren’t as if they were, and Jesus, who states that he can only do what he sees the Father do, what does that mean for us?

It shows that with God, if we are made in his image, thought and speech have a profound effect on our lives.

So, if we first think it in our imaginations, then speak it into being with our mouths, what do you think will happen? How often do we speak the negative into our own lives and become surprised when we never see positive results?

I mentioned in my last post we are a royal priesthood (If you missed it, you can read it here). We carry authority to make decrees in the spirit and watch them manifest physically. If Jesus was the model and the example, following in our Father’s example, then we have the ability to apply what he showed us and make it a reality.

But if we are to do this, we need to first acknowledge that for too long we have limited our thinking and ability to imagine beyond the scope of what the world tells us.

For example when Jesus cursed the fig tree, it was to present the disciples with an example of what authority looks like.

“You will never again bear fruit! ... As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. And being reminded, Peter *said to Him, 'Rabbi, look, the fig tree that You cursed has withered.'... Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. - Mark 11:14, 20-21, 24

Some people will say that the tree died because Jesus was Jesus. No! While Jesus was who He was, like everything he did, that moment was to teach an important lesson. He called the end result, seeing what that looked like, and exercised his authority to make it happen.

So in everything we think and everything we say, there is authority being released. Words carry weight and meaning. Why else would James say...

“With our mouths we both bless and curse” - James 3:10

...if there wasn’t more to it than simply making a statement?

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." - 1 Peter 5:8

The key word here is ‘may’ or ‘can'. Both imply an aspect of permission or granted ability. Lions, by nature, only attack the easiest prey they can get their paws on.

The devil works similarly.

If we curse, or speak ill of another and worse, imagine what that looks like out of anger, don’t we also open the floodgates to invite disaster on those within our sphere of influence?

The enemy isn’t just looking to attack us, he’s looking to attack anyone and anything around us. Are we ordering him to do it? NO!

But by releasing that authority out of anger and malice, we are practically inviting him to do it to someone else. So again, words have meaning and the ability to cause harm. Not just emotionally, but spiritually, too.

If we bless someone and speak life into their lives, the opposite is also true. We enable God’s spirit and His angels to work through the spoken authority he has granted us to allow the blessing to manifest as we have asked.

If we imagine what that looks like, and see the end result (like Jesus did with the fig tree), then it becomes the blueprint Abba works through to bring about the blessing.

So we "Pray without ceasing" (Thess 5:17), but not necessarily getting on our knees in some long-winded petition.

We focus our hearts and minds on the vision of what we ask. We imagine it and allow God to tune the vision, so it becomes more clear, asking for it and speaking it as if it were already so.

By practicing this continually in our lives and speaking life to what we seek, either for a vision of ourselves or for another, the reality of it will eventually take shape.

It’s not naming and claiming, rather it’s a steady process of growing with God through a process designed by Him to help us become and receive what He desires for us.

It’s an exercise of faith, or put another way, the act of entrusting Him with our lives so intimately that we can see the good of the vision and how to use it to minister to others.

It’s living out our Life Book and taking what’s written in it and bringing it to a world that needs life and hope. Because whatever we create and bless, God will use for his Kingdom, no matter how small or large it is.

So, the next time you think “I can’t” or “I’m not capable” or whatever negative thing that inserts itself into your heart and mind, remember this: what you think of yourself is who you will become.

Adonai makes capable people.

He has given you the authority to change the ‘I can’t’ or ‘I am’ in the circumstance you face. You just have to ask and imagine what it looks like.