“Then Job answered the Lord and said, “I know that You can do all things, And that no plan is impossible for You. ‘Who is this who conceals advice without knowledge?’ Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I do not know. ‘Please listen, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ “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.”
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After hearing God's voice and a series of questions about His creation, Job's knowledge and understanding were enriched and had a fuller picture of his earthly suffering which was personal and small in comparison to God's awesome creation and sovereignty. Job heard God's word before but now he experienced/saw Him. So he then realized that what he spoke about God in pain was wrong and he repented. And then God restored everything to Job and even made it better than what he had before.
As for us, we can draw out the following from the above passage:
1. Knowledge of God's word is critical in our understanding of earthly life, especially when we are suffering.
2. God is sovereign over creation. Our pains will be temporal as His plan for those who wait, trust, and are faithful until the end will be eternal.
3. We know God's word is a good start, but we must experience them in life by practicing what we read/heard. We must encounter Jesus on a daily/weekly basis.
4. Our knowledge and understanding are always limited. We should be humble to be corrected if we want to be enriched and to receive the blessed outcome when God's whole Scripture teach/rebuke/train us in righteousness by faith in Christ Jesus (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16).
May the above steps be the reality of our journey together in this Body of Christ.
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