Aren't
you grateful that others cannot know what you
are thinking every minute of every day? It
is good that God created blocks in communication. Sometimes
we need a lot of time to think before we open
our mouths and share our opinions.
God knows what we are thinking all the time. There is no way to get around
that, although I'm sure you would like to think you could. He knows it
all. You can't keep a secret from God. Sometimes God knows what we
are thinking better than we do.
Luke 5 contains the exciting story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man whom his
friends dropped down through the ceiling tiles. It’s a great children's
story. Imagine the thought, Jesus was teaching crowds of people when all
of the sudden the roof starts to break open. Was it an act of God? No,
there were some crazy men up there dropping their paralyzed friend right in front
of Jesus.
Try to imagine what you might be thinking at a moment like this. Would
you be angry that some crazy people were interrupting the moment you were fortunate
enough to get their early to see? Would you be thinking, Wow we've
got Jesus on the spot; can He heal unexpected requests?
I'm not sure how long people had to think because Jesus quickly responded to
this interruption with this statement, Your sins are forgiven (Luke
5:20). I'm not sure what the Pharisees had been thinking up until that
point, but at the moment Jesus told the man his sins were forgiven, their little
brains started spinning. They weren't outspoken enough to make their objections
known, so Jesus exposed their thoughts. Knowing what they were thinking,
Jesus answered them by saying, Which is easier: to say Your sins are
forgiven, or to say Get up and walk? Jesus knew the answer to His
question. Telling this man to get up and walk was easy for God's Son. Forgiving
this man's sins meant dying on a cross.
Luke 5:22 says, Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, ‘Why
are you thinking these things in your hearts?’ Jesus knows what
you are thinking today too. He asks the same question of you. Why
are you thinking these things in your hearts? Why are you thinking, I
don’t have a major ministry, so I don’t matter much in God's kingdom
work, or I didn’t get the job I wanted so God doesn't want to bless me
with a job, or It’s okay that I am gossiping with my neighbor because we
are going to pray for these people too, or Life is just too hard.
Perhaps you need to take some time today to confront what you are thinking with
God's truth.