Key Bible Verse: "You ask, 'Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?' It is I … I take back everything I said" (Job 42:3,6). Bonus Reading: Luke 5:1-11

In his hometown of Houston, Roger Clemens went to the mound for the Astros, hoping to get them into the World Series. "The Rocket" had won over 300 games in the American League. But on that balmy night his usually pinpoint control was failing him. The umpire chose to call several borderline pitches balls instead of strikes.

The fiery, competitive Clemens might have confronted the home-plate umpire directly. Instead, after his catcher and eventually the umpire came out to the mound, not wanting to show up the man in blue, Clemens quietly asked for clarification on the strike zone. He told Clemens what he was and wasn't going to call a strike. Clemens settled down for the rest of the evening and pitched a strong game, eventually getting the victory.

[Today's Key Bible Verses] remind us that we're never in a position to demand an explanation from God. God has first rights in our lives. Just as Clemens respectfully spoke to the umpire with his head down, asking rather than demanding, so too our approach to God must be filled with reverence and awe.

When was the last time you bowed your head and your heart in worship?

—Hugh Poland in Steal Away

My Response: When it comes to ____, I won't challenge God's right to call the shots.

Thought to Apply: Submission is a key concept in the Bible. It is the willful act of yielding to the power, control, or authority of another.—Bob Snyder

Adapted from Steal Away (Judson, 2006) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Keep me, God, from a presumptuous stance in Your majestic presence, but grant me a humble confidence based on Your sacrificial love.

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