The Outcome Of The Interview - The One Year Unlocking the Bible Devotional

I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. . . . I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.   Job 42:5-6

When the interview finally ended, Job must have been exhausted. But when God relented, Job had an entirely new perspective on his life and his suffering: “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. . . . I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me” (Job 42:2-3).

The book of Job is dominated by the opinions of his friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, with another man, Elihu, throwing in his long-winded contribution. When Job’s friends had finished all their counsel, Job was in absolute misery. But then God took center stage. You might think God’s words to this broken man seem crushing, but God’s speech had exactly the opposite effect. After his encounter with God, Job was filled with a vision of the glory of the God who is sovereign over all things.

The friends had focused Job’s attention inward; God focused Job’s attention upward. That’s what the Word of God does. It takes you outside of yourself, and it brings you to God. When Job saw the glory of God, it changed the way he was thinking and the way he was feeling. His encounter with God did not end with his saying, “Now I understand,” but, “Now I repent.”

Job was a man of faith. When tragedy struck, Job tore his robes and worshiped! But in the course of his suffering, and under the influence of his friends, he became increasingly consumed with himself and his unanswered questions.

Some people sin by thinking too highly of themselves, others sin by thinking too lowly of themselves, but all of us sin by thinking too much about ourselves. That’s where Job was until the revelation of God broke through. In a fresh encounter with the living God, this man of faith once again became a worshiper.

For further reading, see Job 42