Now I really know

"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. – Job 42v5

I really, really like this verse. It has become one of my favourites (of course, if we can have favourite verses, but you get my drift). Before Job’s trials Job knew all about God. He had heard about Him and had a basic faith in Him. He knew God was there. But now, after all the trials and before God brings it to a resolution, Job says –‘Now I have seen you with my eyes.’

I feel this way about the book of Job itself and the revelation of God that comes with it. For a good part of my life, maybe until about 10 years ago I knew all about the Lord and how He would carry us through trials. I have loved and counselled and dealt with and cried with friends who went through time like this. I knew the truth – with my head. I had heard all about it and I knew how to relate the facts.

And then things changed. A series of Jobish trials came our way. Of course I do not mean to make light of the extent of Job’s trials, ours were nothing like that. But we have had a series of life altering trials.

It is through these series of trials however that God allows us to REALLY know Him. We no longer have to depend on hearing about God’s workings from the testimony of others. Now we have seen Him work with our eyes and we can really know that He is who he says he is.

There is something here that I don’t want to gloss over. Note that God had not actually seen God do anything about his personal circumstances. Job made this statement by faith. He did not know that God was going to sort things out for him. He just knew that God was God and that God knew best.

I think that is the goal of our faith – to see God and know Him and trust that He knows and does what it best.