“Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.” - Proverbs 16:3
On the surface, this proverb may seem backwards. Shouldn’t we have the right mentality in order to properly work for the Jesus Christ?
The key to understanding this verse can be found in Ephesians 2:8-10.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
In order to commit your works to the Lord, you must be born again (Jn. 3:3 and 1 Cor. 15:1-4). Once a person is saved and is a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), they can begin to do works that are pleasing His sight. Until that point, a person’s works are nothing but garbage to the Lord (Is. 64:5-6).
Christians do and will always struggle with our thoughts until the moment we go to Heaven. That is just reality. Unfortunately, we Christians tend to try and get our mentality right before we do anything for the Lord… and sometimes years pass before we get the right “feeling”.
The more you pray (a work) and read your Bible (a work) and share the Gospel with others (a work) and spend time with other Christians (a work) and worship God (a work), the more your thought life will match your physical life.
Pay close attention to what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 2:8-10 and you will see that the only thing that is not counted as a work is faith.
It is work putting away your fleshly desires. It is a struggle and it isn’t easy. However, the more you work towards focusing more and more on your Savior Jesus Christ, His Word promises to establish your thought life in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.