Job 42:5-6 “My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”

A genuine revelation of God changes whoever experiences it. We don’t know how the Lord appeared to Job, but obviously the visual was involved, as a concession to Job’s limited understanding. The more we know of God, the smaller we understand ourselves to be. It then follows that we understand the greatness of God’s grace better, that He would love and care about and forgive such as we are. A genuine revelation of God is a sure cure for pride! Job had no way of knowing God’s plan of salvation, sending His Son to take on the sins of mankind and die for them, so he was mostly just blown away by God’s power, and that He would talk to him personally. We, however, know the facts of the Gospel and so understand God to be love. We still need the foundation of awe and reverent obedience that are called “the fear of the Lord,” but because of Jesus our grasp of Him can be much higher and deeper and more intimate. The danger, especially for Christians today, is a “love and blessings” faith that essentially ignores the fear of the Lord. Such “faith” doesn’t bring repentance, and so is not saving faith. We are in dangerous territory indeed when we fail to recognize what it means to proclaim, “Jesus is Lord,” and do so from our hearts.

I spent quite a few years in that territory myself, being baptized at seven, after having proclaimed my love for Jesus for a few years before that. I won’t say I wasn’t saved, but I certainly lived in pride, and that may be the greatest barrier to salvation. I had a good knowledge of the facts of the Bible from childhood on, so when the Lord essentially tapped me on the shoulder and showed me myself, for an instant, in a “spiritual mirror” of sorts, my reaction was to fall to my knees and cry out, “My Lord and my God.” I understand Job’s feelings here very well. I was certainly changed by that encounter, as I’m sure Job was by his, but that doesn’t mean I was “made perfect,” any more than Paul was by his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. What did happen was a blow to my pride that I was very much needing. I wish I could say that I’ve never been prideful since, but I continue to grow. I cannot generate such an encounter with God for anyone else, but I can pray that their spiritual eyes be opened, to see themselves and to see God, so that they may indeed repent and believe for their salvation. (Mark 1:15)

Father, thank You for this reminder, and thank You especially for Your totally amazing grace. Thank You for all You are doing in, around, and through us in these days. Thank You for the faith You have been pouring into me, and hopefully, through me to others. I pray that everyone in this church would indeed believe that You are greater than all our weaknesses put together, and You can and will do great things through us for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!