God Hears
Job 42:1-11
42 Then Job answered Jehovah, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do all things,
And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.
3 Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge?
Therefore have I uttered that which I understood not,
Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak;
I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
5 I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear;
But now mine eye seeth thee:
6 Wherefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.
7 And it was so, that, after Jehovah had spoken these words unto Job, Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. 8 Now therefore, take unto you seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you; for him will I accept, that I deal not with you after your folly; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as Jehovah commanded them: and Jehovah accepted Job.
10 And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: and Jehovah gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him concerning all the evil that Jehovah had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one a ring of gold.
When the day of reckoning arrives, God is always fair. He blesses those who have walked with Him. He forgives those who bring their offerings and humble themselves before Him. God restores. God rewards. God heals. God honors Job, who prayed for his friends with an open heart. God noticed it all. I suggest you underscore Hebrews 6:10 in your Bible: “For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.” Eugene Peterson, in The Message, renders those first words “God doesn’t miss anything” (Hebrews 6:10).
Some who read my words have been terribly abused. You have been victims of the worst kind of mistreatment. You have been taken advantage of by someone you trusted. You have been abandoned by your mate, treated unfairly, ripped off. You’ve lost a fortune through a fraudulent scheme. Every one of us could give hell stories of abuse and neglect, misrepresentation and unfair treatment that have never been made right. So, please return to this great truth: God does not forget. He just doesn’t adjust His plan to our timetable. His Accounts Settlement desk doesn’t operate on a nine-to-five schedule. He doesn’t handle our cases when we want them handled. I wanted God to zap Eliphaz the very moment he said that first insulting word to Job. He’s waited through all the sarcastic speeches, stayed silent through all the insults. Finally, He says, “Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, you have been wrong.”
God heard! Yes, He heard! He didn’t say anything at the time, but He heard it all. He is not unjust to forget one idle word. And I can assure you, He didn’t overlook one wrong act committed against you. He has a perfect plan. His plan is unfolding. When His timetable says, “Now,” justice will roll down, and His Accounts Settlement desk will take swift action.
God’s arrangement of things is not a frustrated plan. God is not sitting on the edge of heaven, biting His nails, wondering what He’s going to do about our world. He knows exactly what He’s going to do and when He’s going to do it. Job sees that clearly . . . now. He realizes, finally, that God doesn’t miss anything.
He hasn’t missed anything in your life either.
When God’s timetable says, “Now,” justice will roll down with swift action taken.
— Charles R. Swindoll
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