What If?
By Jill Briscoe“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.” Job 42:5
I found it quite by accident – a nasty little black mark on my skin. I couldn’t remember having seen it before. I showed it to my husband. “You’d better show it to the doctor,” he said. My heart beat a little harder. I’d heard about black warts. The doctor said I’d better have it removed that week.
I was frightened. What if …, I wondered, with a rising tide of apprehension. Things were good – so very good. I could say in all sincerity: “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places” (Ps. 16:6). Our children loved the Lord, our ministry was prospering. I was young – well, I felt young, too young to …! I couldn’t say it – not even silently!
I read the Book of Job. Job had had it good, too. The lines had certainly fallen to him in pleasant places! He knew the Lord. He believed His Word. He had heard of Him “by the hearing of the ear” and had been an obedient servant. But then “the thing (he) greatly feared came upon (him)” (Job 3:25). Job’s family died; his health failed; his business crashed. Only his wife remained and he could well have wished her gone, so little help she turned out to be! But, oh, at the end he was able to say, “But now my eye sees You”!
The wart was removed. It was benign. When I came home and read these verses again, I understood Job a little better. I understood it had been worth my little scare to “see” God in quite a new way. He had sharpened my focus and given me a clear glimpse of glory!
What If What If What If What If What If
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