"Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind and said: 'Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?'" —Job 38:1-2

Just because you don't know what you're talking about doesn't mean you don't have something to say. Just because you don't know what you're talking about doesn't mean you don't have to say something. These are two of the cardinal rules of this Age of Information.

Information is not necessarily the same thing as knowledge or wisdom. What if "I just have to say something" turned into "I will remain silent unless I have a helpful contribution or thoughtful question?"

Have you ever had the experience in a school classroom where the teacher asked a question and you did not raise your hand, did not look her in the eye, and hoped she wouldn't call on you, and she called on you anyway?

Teachers can be cruel to daydreaming students who would prefer to gaze out the window than pay attention to something that they really aren't that interested in, and hey, look at the time! With all the knowledge available through online resources, somehow, we know more about the Kardashians than Kansas.

With all the wisdom gathered and stored in book depositories called libraries, we prefer bite-size tweets of irrelevance. Maybe I'm just frustrated because my computer took so long to reboot this morning after it failed to complete its restart when the electricity went off yesterday.

Maybe I want to tell you more about that than you care to know. Job knew God knew everything. Then he proved it. God, I mean. God had questions. Job had no answers. He didn't raise his hand. He did not make eye contact. He wanted a hall pass and a quick trip to the Boys Room.

What he realized very quickly was that for everything he thought he knew for sure, there were magnitudes of truth he had not yet begun to ponder. Job teaches a lesson to you and me if we care to learn it: never pretend you are smarter than God.

Job did not make this mistake. He knew what he didn't know. He asked for answers he could not comprehend and received more questions he could not possibly answer. He proved he did not know it all.

God declared this is permissible, acceptable, and beneficial. It teaches us to trust Him in every circumstance knowing He knows what we cannot, He is in charge of everything we haven't begun to ponder, and He will guide us through everything even when we cannot possibly understand realities beyond our perception.

Trusting God with life's imponderables is true wisdom.

David Bowman, (DMin, PCC) is the Executive Director of Tarrant Baptist Association in Fort Worth, Texas. He also serves as a Multiplying Trainer for Future Church Co. Learn More »