Jesus knows and understands

But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts? (Luke 5:22 NASB)

This verse offers great hope for those of us with a wavering faith. The Greek word epiginōskō, translated here as "aware of" is often translated as "recognize".  The dictionary definition includes "to recognize a thing to be what it really is", "to know accurately", "to perceive".  Any of those definitions apply here, but the one I like the best is "to understand".  Right at the beginning of His public ministry, we see that Jesus understands our questions, our confusion, our faith struggles. The questions of those religious leaders did not take Jesus by surprise, nor do our questions. The questions and difficulties with faith of our prodigal loved ones are not shocking or terrifying to Jesus. He knows all about them, and according to this wonderful word epiginōskō, He understands. 

We will soon see that Jesus not only understood the questions of the scribes and Pharisees but likely ordered His statements in such a way to expose their questions and provide them with answers. He was not one bit threatened by these intellectuals, nor was He impressed. His desire was to bring them from the head knowledge in which they took pride to a heart knowledge that infused every aspect of their lives. It's His desire for us as well. 

Pray today that neither we not our loved ones will use questions and uncertainty as an excuse to abandon faith, but will seek and listen for the Still Small Voice to provide the answers for which we long.