Counsel Without Knowlege

I was reading this morning in Job 42, and God brought one verse to my attention in a very painful way. Job 42:3 says,

"Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not."

Job, who was very personally knowledgable of God and His ways, realized when he came face to face with Him that He in fact knew very little! He had questioned why God had allowed certain trials to come in his life, and my mind his reaction was certainly understandable. Everything he held dear was stripped away from him in a single day even though he honored God with his life.

I am sure most Christians (myself included) would have reacted much worse than Job did! However, when finally face to face with a Holy God, Job refused to question Him, and repented for ever opening his mouth and speaking in ignorance about things too wonderful and deep for him to understand.

As a loudmouthed opinionated person, this verse is pretty inconvenient to say the least. Convicting would be a better word! As I read this I thought, how many times do I brashly open my mouth and speak confidently about things that should leave me dumb with wonder?

How many times do I open the living Word of God with an attitude of arrogance. "Oh, I've read this passage probably 50 times, and I even wrote a paper on it." The very idea that God would leave His Word on earth and preserve it thousands of years so that I could know Him, and how I can please Him should drive me to my knees is amazement!

How many times has someone asked me about God, and I give them my small-minded pigeon-holed concept of the Creator God of the universe, and fail to impart to them the sense of awe and fear that I should hold Him in?

The Bible says that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. I think that, especially considering that we are preparing for a revival, I need to lay hold of the promise in James: ..."If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not..."