Reflect today that you are somehow struggling with misleading and confused thoughts

Jesus said to them, "Aren't you deceived because you don't 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. In recent times this has been a common theme in daily readings. Jesus' answer is the one that cuts the problem to the heart. It resolves their confusion, but begins simply by affirming the clear truth that the Sadducees are misled because they know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. This should give us reason to pause and look at our understanding of the scriptures and the power of God.

It is easy to try to understand life on your own. We can think, think, think and try to analyze why this happened or that. We can try to analyze the actions of others or even ours. And often times in the end, we are just as confused and "misled" as when we started.

If you find yourself in such a confused situation about something you are trying to understand about life, perhaps it is nice to sit and listen to those words of Jesus pronounced as if they had been told to you.

These words should not be taken as a harsh criticism or reproach. Rather, they should be taken as a blessed vision of Jesus to help us take a step back and realize that we are often fooled into the things of life. It is very easy to let emotions and mistakes blur our thinking and reasoning and lead us on the wrong path. So what do we do?

When we feel "cheated" or when we realize that we don't really understand God or His power at work, we should stop and take a step back so we can pray and look for what God has to say.

Interestingly, praying is not the same as thinking. Of course, we must use our mind to meditate on the things of God, but "thinking, thinking and more thinking" is not always the way to correct understanding. Thinking is not prayer. We often don't understand it.

A regular goal that we must have is to step back in humility and recognize God and ourselves that we do not understand His ways and wills. We must try to silence our active thoughts and put aside all preconceived notions of what is right and wrong. In our humility, we must sit down and listen and wait for the Lord to take the lead. If we can let go of our constant attempts to "understand" it, we may find that God will understand it and shed the light we need. The Sadducees fought with some pride and arrogance which clouded their thinking and led to self-justice. Jesus tries to redirect them gently but firmly to clarify the thought.

Reflect today that you are somehow struggling with misleading and confused thoughts. Humble yourself so that Jesus can redirect your thinking and help you get to the truth.

Sir, I want to know the truth. Sometimes I can afford to be misled. Help me to humble myself before you so you can take the lead. Jesus I believe in you.