Articles
Expert Advice
Expert Advice
Brett Petrillo
“While she was enjoying a transatlantic ocean trip, Billie Burke, a famous actress at the time, noticed that a gentleman at the next table was suffering from a bad cold. ‘Are you uncomfortable?’ she asked sympathetically. The man nodded. ‘I'll tell you just what to do for it," she offered. ‘Go back to your room and drink lots of orange juice. Take two aspirin. Cover yourself with all the blankets you can find. Sweat the cold out. I know just what I'm talking about. I'm Billie Burke from Hollywood.’ The man smiled warmly and introduced himself in return. ‘Thanks,’ he said, ‘I'm Dr. Mayo from the Mayo Clinic’” (Bits & Pieces, March 3, 1994, p. 24).
They say it takes 10,000 hours of practice and experience before a person becomes an expert. Of course, getting advice from someone who has hardly spent even a fraction of this time in study is comical, to say the least. Although, even the most novice of people giving advice to the most knowledgeable expert in the history of the earth would pale in comparison to the gap between our knowledge and God’s.
God’s words are practically dripping with irony when He speaks to Job out of a whirlwind and says, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct Me!” (Job 38:1-3). From here God goes on to ask about Job’s knowledge in laying the foundation of the earth, its measurements, and foundation (Job 38:4-7). He asks Job for his knowledge about the sea and its boundaries (Job 38:8-11). He asks Job what his experience is with causing morning and dawn to come (Job 38:12), walking in the midst of the sea (Job 38:16), and even about his knowledge on dwelling place of light (Job 38:19).
The message is beyond clear. Whatever knowledge humanity thinks it has, God is the one and only true expert in all things (Isaiah 55:8-9). For thousands of years, people have been seeking expert advice on just about every conceivable situation. Sadly, one place they rarely looked was to the Lord.
There is nothing wrong with seeing an expert when we are in need. However, this should never come at the neglect of the Almighty One. Amazingly, even though He is the Creator, and despite the unfathomable gap in our knowledge, He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). Whether it’s mental or emotional, medical or psychological, physical or spiritual, let’s not forget to first take our situation before the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
