God Is Not a Rubber Stamp (3 Nephi 3)

by | Jul 24, 2019 | Scripture Study | 1 comment

rubber_stamp.jpg

The use of a rubber stamp as a business tool dates back to the late 1800s. Such stamps had raised rubber letters that spelled out words and could be pressed onto an inkpad and then pressed on a piece of paper such that the words would then appear on the paper. One typical use would be to have a rubber stamp with the word “Approved,” which could then be used to indicate approval of a written request.

The process was simple — stamp on inkpad, stamp on paper, next request, stamp on inkpad, stamp on paper, etc. Using this method, many requests could be quickly approved and sent on their way. As you can imagine, the ease of the process made it tempting to just approve a bunch of requests without even reading them — stamp on inkpad, stamp on paper, next request, etc.

This must have happened fairly frequently since the process gave birth to an idiom that still exists today — a person is referred to as a “rubber stamp” if he is responsible for approving requests and just does so automatically without paying much attention to what is actually being requested.

In 3 Nephi 3, the Nephites are preparing to do battle with the Gadianton robbers. They approach their leader Gidgiddoni, a great prophet, and tell him, “Pray unto the Lord, and let us go up upon the mountains and into the wilderness, that we may fall upon the robbers and destroy them in their own lands” (verse 20). In other words, they want to tell God, “OK, Lord, this is how it’s going to go — we’re going to the land of the robbers to attack them. Your job is to approve our plan by helping us destroy them.”

Recognizing the foolhardiness of telling God the “plan” and expecting Him to just be a rubber stamp, Gidgiddoni replies, “The Lord forbid; for if we should go up against them the Lord would deliver us into their hands” (verse 21). In other words, God is not a rubber stamp. We should be asking Him what to do instead of telling Him what we’re going to do and expecting Him to automatically approve of it.

Gidgiddoni then tells them God’s plan, which is to gather all of the Nephite armies together in one place and then wait for the robbers to attack what will be a very strong army. The battle is described in the next chapter, but you can guess the outcome.

It’s very tempting for any of us to try to use God as a rubber stamp. It’s probably not unusual for us to pray and say something like, “OK, Lord, this is what I’m going to be doing,” followed by a request for Him to bless our actions and make them successful.

Have we asked the Lord how He wants us to do whatever it is we’re preparing to do or whether He even wants us to do it at all? If we have, or if the Holy Ghost is prompting us to do it, then it’s safe to proceed and ask for God’s blessing. If not, then we need to wait for His approval rather than assuming He will automatically approve of what we’re doing and make it successful — God is not a rubber stamp. For example:

  • Rather than asking God to help you get a specific job, ask Him to direct you to the job He wants you to have.
  • Rather than telling God you’re relocating to another city and that you want Him to bless you there, first ask Him where He wants you to live.
  • Rather than asking God to help you marry a specific person, ask Him to direct you to the person He’s chosen for you and even be open to the possibility that marriage may not be part of His plan for you at all.

In the above cases and any others in which decisions and plans are being made, seek God’s approval first. If He approves, then He will bless you as you move forward. If you move forward without seeking His approval, then you may face some bumps in the road. Don’t assume that God’s blessings will automatically accompany whatever you decide to do. God is not a rubber stamp.

Bio Jerry New

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.

1 Comment

  1. Rosemary Banes

    True Brother Jerry perfect Testimony for the Shaken Ones.

    To know the real power and to get the grace of Jesus one should first learn to know him instead of trying to doubt on his great power.

    There are many people who trusts him but doesn’t follow him, some follows him but doesn’t trust him and some only lives on the virtue of judging him.

    Knowing Christ isn’t that easy he isn’t a substance or something you get in the markets . He is the Almighty God.

    To know who Jesus Christ is first you must believe in him and once you believe you will get to know about his powers and wonders. He can be your Best Friend that too Forever and his guidance will work wonders in your life .

    If you want to know who Jesus Christ is follow ChristNow.
    https://www.facebook.com/christnowonline/

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further Reading

Things Can Change Quickly and Dramatically

On the plates of Mormon, there is one short book with the title of "The Book of Nephi who is the son of Nephi — one of the disciples of Jesus Christ" (imagine trying to reference any verses by that name — or even remember it). In the 1830 edition of The Book of...

Read More

Life of Jesus Series (through year-end 2023)

As we are arriving at the end of 2023, and the Gospel Blog writing and audio teams are about to take a few weeks off, it’s a good time to look at where we are in the “Life of Jesus” series.  In case you weren’t with us at the beginning of the series (about...

Read More

Never Miss a New Article

Subscribe to Our Email List
Sign up and get every new blog post sent straight to your inbox so you always have the day’s devotional at your fingertips.

We never share your email address with anyone for any reason, and we use it only to send you Gospel Blog emails. Just articles, not ads!

Your Story for God’s Glory

Share Your Testimony on Miracle Monday

We devote Miracle Monday to sharing miracle stories. From finding a lost wedding ring to healing cancer on the spot, Jesus Christ has done it all, big and small.

And we want to hear about what He’s done for you.

The Gospel Blog Is Open for Submissions

We encourage devotional-style or scripture-based articles in the ballpark of 500 words. We are open to any topic that glorifies God and unites the Church.