Knowing the Mind of God

Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?”  - Mark 12:24

This Scripture comes from the passage where some Sadducees were trying to trap Jesus in His speech. This has been a common theme in the daily readings as of late. Jesus’ answer is one that cuts to the heart of the problem. He does clear up their confusion, but He starts by simply laying down the clear truth that the Sadducees are misled because they do not know either the Scriptures or the power of God. This should give us reason to pause and look at our own understanding of the Scriptures and the power of God.

It is easy to try to figure life out on our own. We can think and think and think and try to analyze why this happened or that. We can try to analyze others actions or even our own. And often times in the end, we are just as confused and “misled” as when we began.  

If you find yourself in such a confusing situation about anything you are trying to understand about life, perhaps it’s good to sit and listen to those words of Jesus spoken as if they were spoken to you.

These words should not be taken as a harsh criticism or rebuke. Rather, they should be taken as a blessed insight from Jesus to help us step back and realize that we are often misled about the things of life. It’s very easy to let emotion and errors cloud our thinking and reasoning and lead us down the wrong path. So what do we do?

When we find ourselves feeling “misled” or when we realize we do not really understand God or His power at work, we should stop and take a step back so that we can pray and seek what God has to say.

Interestingly, praying is not the same as thinking. Sure, we need to use our mind to ponder the things of God, but “thinking, thinking, and more thinking” is not always the way to the correct understanding.  Thinking is not prayer. We often do not understand that.  

A regular goal we must have is to step back in humility and acknowledge to God and ourselves that we do not understand His ways and will. We must strive to silence our active thoughts and set aside all preconceived notions of what is right and wrong.  In our humility, we need to sit and listen and wait on the Lord to take the lead. If we can let go of our constant attempts to “figure it out” we may find that God will figure it out for us and shed the light that we need. The Sadducees struggled with a certain pride and arrogance which clouded their thinking and led to self-righteousness. Jesus attempts to gently but firmly redirect them to clear thinking.  

Reflect, today, upon whether you are struggling in any way with misleading and confusing thoughts. Humble yourself so that Jesus can redirect your thinking and help you to arrive at the truth.

Lord, I do want to know the truth. At times I can allow myself to be misled. Help me to humble myself before You so that You can take the lead. Jesus, I trust in You.