Job 42:5-6 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
God is Greater Than Your Need
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There is something comforting about being understood. How many people do you know who really know you, understand where you’re coming from, where you’re going, what you mean by the words you say, and how you use the words you say? There are precious few such people in this world! In fact C.S. Lewis said something to the effect that friendship is when one person says to another, “Oh, you too? I thought I was the only one.” It is that moment when you realize that someone comprehends you.
Job was certainly misunderstood by his friends. They knew a lot of wonderful truths, but the problem was that they didn’t really comprehend Job. God said that Job’s friends did not speak of the right things as His servant Job had. Right there we are reminded that despite all Job’s problems, God considered Job to be His servant. That means that God took ownership of Job and his problems.
So, Job’s friends did not understand Job. But can you think of someone else who was misunderstood in the book of Job? God was. Job’s friends did not understand Job, but Job did not understand God. Sometimes the part of God that we comprehend is so small that it is smaller than the problem that we see.
The God Who is greater than your comprehension is also greater than your need. When he finds God for Who He is Job says, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Job did not demean himself in comparison to his friends; he humbled himself in comparison to God. Job saw God for Who He was, Job saw himself for who he was, and Job saw his problems for what they were. His problems were, in fact, merely a servant of God just as Job was a servant of God.
Don’t judge God in comparison to your problems. Judge your problems in comparison to God. It’s easy to see our problems in one frame, like you might see a grand mountain in a photo, but God exceeds any frame or size that we could impose upon Him. God Himself is greater than our problems. The God Who is greater than your understanding is also greater than your need.