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 great deal depends on how we view God. For the vast majority of people He is a bearded old man in the clouds, or perhaps just an amorphous concept. That certainly changes when we have a personal encounter with Him. Job speaks of seeing Him, but since God is Spirit, we don’t know what he actually saw. Without question he heard God in such a way that there could be no question what or who he was hearing. I remember Benjamin Berger, who was an agnostic Jew when he heard God say to him, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I’m your God.” Later in that conversation He also said, “And by the way, my name’s Jesus.” Needless to say, Benjamin has been absolutely committed to the Lord ever since! The last thing the devil wants us to know is that God is personal, and He cares personally about each of us. When we know that, it puts the whole rest of the world into perspective. It makes us understand that we are no big deal, but at the same time extremely valuable, because God, the Creator of the universe, values us enough to send His Son to die for us. Job had no revelation of the cross, so he mostly got the message that he was no big deal, but he still experienced God’s grace in overflowing measure. Sometimes God does manifest Himself to us in unmistakable ways, but most of the time, and for most people, we have to recognize Him by faith. However, if we will do that, we will discover that He is the very definition of faithful, absolutely to be trusted, and that is a degree of security that can be had no other way.

I have heard God speak to me in what seemed like an audible voice on at least two occasions, but I have been convinced of His reality most of my life. That is the blessing of having believing parents who lived out their faith. Parents who just follow a religious tradition and give lip service to a creed do their children no favors, but those who live out their faith in active service to and fellowship with the Lord give them an inheritance that has no equal. I have no words to express my gratitude to my parents, and to God, and me being at a loss for words is a rare thing indeed! I wish that I could say that my awareness of God has kept me totally faithful to Him, but that is not at all the case. I am very aware of how essential God’s grace is for me! My prayer is that my life has been and will be a demonstration of the reality of God to all who know me, my physical children included. At 75, I have no idea how many more years the Lord will give me to impart that impression, but I rejoice at every evidence that it is happening.

Father, thank You for the incredible privilege of knowing You, even to the small degree that I do, and of introducing others to You. Thank You for being so different from the conventional characteriza­tions of You. Thank You for having a sense of humor, and for giving me one! May I not misrepresent You in any way, but accurately convey Your truth and Your love to all, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!