Reflections
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye sees You. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:5-6)
Here we find the reason for Job’s trial. He had not sinned against God – God Himself had called him a good and upright man, who loved good and hated evil. But no matter how much we are walking in the light, there is always more light. There is always more of Jesus to see. And suffering adjusts us for doing so.
Job had apparently known much TRUE teaching about the Lord – in fact, he taught others that true teaching. But this is never the same as actually seeing the One about whom our teaching speaks. Job did not know what he did NOT see – he never realized how blind he really was. This is the same with us. God puts us through suffering so that we might come to see Jesus Christ. And when we do, we get some idea of just how blind we were. Thus, we, “repent in dust and ashes,” as to how much we thought we knew! — and rejoice in what we now DO see.