Scripture: Job 40:4 NASB “The Idiot Rule”
“Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. ” Job 40:4 NASB
Job learned something when he finally got his day in court with God. He learned to keep his mouth shut. He said he laid “his hand on his mouth.”
I learned this lesson a few years back. I call it the “idiot rule.” Here’s how it works. When I get mad at God, I remind myself that I shouldn’t complain. I should just wait. There’s no real reason to scream and gripe to God. If I just wait I will usually see what God’s purpose is. If not, I probably don’t need to know. I call it the “idiot rule” because of how many times I got upset with God and not long afterward I saw what He was up to. Then I felt like an idiot.
If I had just been a little more patient, everything would be fine and I’d see how much God loved me and wanted the best for me. It took Job till chapter 40 to find this out but he did.
Next time you get mad at God, just trust Him and wait. You might find out something new about Him and even grow up a bit yourself. After all, you don’t want to feel like an idiot.
Do you?
Then change your plan and get in line with God.
If you do, you will find that you are choosing life (Deut. 30:19)!
Fun Application: Think back in your life to when you might have gotten really mad at God. When the smoke cleared, did you come to realize why in His wisdom he allowed things to happen to you the way they did? What can you do to catch yourself before you spend unnecessary emotional energy getting angry with God? If you are getting mad at God a lot, you could try putting a rubber band around your wrist and snapping it when you get mad at God. That will be a reminder to calm down and trust Him alone (cf. Prov. 3:5-6).
The purpose of the Choose Life is to pick a positive help out of the One Year Bible (OYB) reading plan for the day. There is always something positive in the Word of God to cheer us and give us strength.
For more on today’s reading, check out my One Year Bible blog: Getting Served Up