Job 42:6,7 – “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;
Therefore I retract,
And I repent, sitting on dust and ashes.”
This verse in Job came alive to me in the days immediately following the destruction of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. Parris and I had returned from being evacuated to the horror of the devastation of the city we had given our lives to for so many years. I had questions, I had piles of questions with no answers. It was in reading the book of Job that I found a life changing answer for me. After all of Job’s trials the Lord Himself appeared to Job in a storm. In seeing God for Himself Job finally understood, God Himself is our treasure. Everything else is temporary but the Lord is the ultimate prize. It is often our worst times in life that give birth to our greatest times as we find ourselves in the presence of God. In light of what our country has gone through with the pandemic, racial tension, and political upheaval a visitation from heaven is our only way out. R.T. Kendall teaches that there are two things the Lord wants to do in the midst of the storm, this may help you understand what is going on.
“I believe God has allowed the double whammy in America at present to get our attention. I believe He wants to accomplish two things in us:
To let us experience for ourselves how real, wonderful, true, faithful, and glorious God is. It could be spectacular—like the children of Israel crossing the river Jordan—or something less dramatic but just as real—as when God spoke to Elijah with “the sound of a low whisper” (1 Kings 19:12; “still small voice” in KJV).
- To remind us that we are going to heaven. That is our destination. This life is not all there is. We are not existentialists—having to live these days as though there is no purpose in life. The God of the Bible is a God of purpose. And to the degree we focus on His Son, who died on the cross so that we might go to heaven, we will accomplish more on earth than we ever dreamed.”
So this is what we see when we have an encounter with the Lord. We see the goodness and greatness of our God and we also see that we are eternal creatures and that this natural life is almost done. America is primed for a Great Awakening, God’s glory will surely fill our land from sea to shining sea.
He never leaves or forsakes us but we often wrongly think how He will responded to the prayers of His people. The Word say’s His way’s are higher, yet again we often think our ideas and what we would do aline. If we can learn anything from recorded history and our own history, it’s that relying on our own understanding, yes even us who are Spirit filled, must admit “I didn’t see that coming” Even so, He is for us and not against us and I believe He stands and simply say’s enjoy!