Job 42:5 – Then I knew only what others had told me, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. (GNB)

I accepted the Lord as my Saviour when I was ten years old. I knew that I was a sinner and that I needed a Saviour in order to go to heaven. Beyond that, I knew very little. I rode along on my parents' Christianity. I seldom read my Bible; I seldom prayed; we were seldom in church.

As an adult, I did attend church and did get to know God a bit better. Because I was going through some rough times in my life, though, I turned my back completely on God. I thought that if He were God, then He could have prevented the painful things that happened over the years. My dad told me that I could trust God. My pastor told me that God was trustworthy. My counsellor led me along the path to trust God as my Deliverer, my Comforter, my Peace.

Finally, I journalled about it. I told God that I didn't trust Him, that I was so terribly hurt that I didn't know where to turn. I wrote that my dad, my pastor, and my counsellor all said that He was trustworthy. As I journalled, I chose to start trusting God then and there for healing and restoration.

Along the journey, I came to where I can now say with Job, in our text for today, that in the past, I knew only what others had told me about God, but now, I have experienced Him with my own eyes, in my own heart. I would like to say that I am always living victoriously, but that would not be true. When I falter, though, I can look back and remember how He reached out and touched my life, time after time. I have seen Him and heard Him. He is my Saviour.

How are we doing with our Christianity? Are we relying solely on a parent's faith to feel the peace and joy that we so long to have? Or have we made that faith personal, so that it is a growing faith inside us?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, deep in our hearts, we do want to know You, to really know You, to see You with our own eyes. Sometimes, we don't know what we are missing, and therefore, we can do nothing about it. We can be Christians for many years and yet not have a growing relationship with You. Show us how deeply You want a personal, growing relationship with us, so that we can say with Job, "Now I have seen you with my own eyes." Job went through a lot of trials to get to that point, and we often cringe when face trials, but sometimes, they are the only way we will learn to really "see" You. Help us, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Judy Miller <gjmiller@telusplanet.net>
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
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