By: Rex Stump
We think we know it all! We believe that our knowledge, mixed with our opinion, should settle all matters and make us superior in conversation.
We think we can predict the weather, predict sporting outcomes, and even determine how our days will go.
Even if I have all the right models, radars, and weather reports, I still can’t predict the exact outcome of a storm.
Even if I have all scouting reports of my opponent and spend two weeks preparing to defeat them, I still can’t predict the exact outcome of a game. We think we know it all…we don’t!
I understand that we must pursue excellence, and that we should make every effort at being our best. But let’s remember to keep our pride in its proper place.
There is no room or arrogance in the life of a Christian. I love what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:16, “Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
Job was a man that was inflicted with a major time of suffering. He and his friends discussed the reasons behind his suffering, along with why God was allowing or causing his suffering.
At the end of the book, in chapter 38, God enters the scene and reminds Job that he “doesn’t know it all.” (Read the whole chapter for a better grasp of God)
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?” (4-5)
“Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail? Where is the path to the source of light? Where is the home of the east wind? (22, 24)
“Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth? “Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct?” (33-35)
“Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry, and the soil has hardened into clods?” (37-38)
Wow. Job sat speechless, as God reminded him that we are finite beings with limited knowledge. We don’t know it all. God does. God is beyond qualified to answer all questions about life. Seek God. Seek first a relationship with Him.
Even when we don’t know it all, that is okay. God does. Trust Him. Most of us can’t explain how an airplane can lift off the ground, fly through the skies for thousands of miles, and safely land. We just trust the pilot. Trust God to pilot your life!
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Rex Stump is the Area Director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and serves as a Pastor at True North Church in Wauseon, Ohio.