“I have heard of You by
the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. – Job 42:5
The Pastor at the church we
attend is preaching on Job. At our Sunday
Bible study, the lesson was on suffering, and you guessed it, the Bible
references came from the Book of Job. It
was during that lesson that the Word was suddenly illuminated to me. Has that ever happened
to you? You read the Bible but sometimes
without your spirit connected to it. You could as well be reading a magazine.
You are reading because you are supposed to read – not because you have a
hunger. I can remember a time, just after I was born again, when I had a voracious appetite
for the Word. I could not seem to get
enough of it. Like a new born wanting to
be fed. It was no longer in the womb, but in a new place and it was experiencing
hunger – for the first time. I was experiencing spiritual hunger. Has that ever happened to you? I digress.
As I heard verse 5 being
read, I suddenly “saw”. If there is one thing that we Christians in the United
States have it is an abundance of spiritual food. Plenty for the taking. I probably have 15 Bibles within reach right
now – that is not considering the Bibles available on-line through my computer
and phone. When Job said that he had
heard, but then he saw, I thought about me.
How often I had heard but not as often had I seen. Seeing in the sense that there was a deep
spiritual understanding that was not filtered through my old nature. A moment when the Spirit of God revealed a heavenly truth
that refreshed me like a long drink of cold water on a hot day – refreshing to my soul.
It is an intimate encounter with God. In retrospect I have not experienced enough of
those. Not for the lack of God’s wanting, but for my lack of seeing. Perhaps with being satisfied with merely hearing.
“For the hearts of this
people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they
have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should
understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ But blessed
are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets
and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear
what you hear, and did not hear it.”
– Matthew 13:15-17
Jesus was referring to His coming
as the prophets had longed to see – just like we long to see His return. But in the meantime, the Spirit of God is
waiting to reveal deep truths to us, if we will but open our spiritual eyes.
“[I, Paul] do not cease to
give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the
eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what
is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who
believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the
heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion,
and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to
come.” – Ephesians 1:16-21
It is that same understanding
that came to Job, that Paul prayed for the saints in Ephesus and that God desires
for us all. To know the hope of His calling for us. The exceeding greatness of
His power toward us. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead. It is that
revelation that comes when we no longer merely hear, but see. What a gift. What a blessing. How refreshing.
How encouraging.
“Open my eyes, that I may
see Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the
wonderful key That shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for
Thee, Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine!” – Open My Eyes,
That I May See | Clara H. Scott, 1895, Public Domain
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For
His Glory Alone
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