Throughout most of the book of Job, Job is just whining and ranting at God.  He believes he has done nothing to deserve all of the troubles and sorrows that he has encountered. His friends, on the other hand, continually point out how his works must not have pleased God and that he must’ve done something wrong because God obviously was punishing him.  Interesting because God doesn’t seem to mind Job’s rants and complaining. God gets upset about Job’s friends trying to make Job’s troubles all about his works.

God responds to Job’s complaints by asking him how he could question God’s wisdom. “Where were you when I created all of the wonders of the world?”  Then God reminds Job of His goodness of how mighty, how powerful, how creative he is; and asking, who is Job to complain or to question God?  Starting in chapter 42 we see a whole new response from Job.

Job repents.— “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.  I take back everything I said,  and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” Job 42:5-6 New Living Translation (NLT)

I wonder how many times when everything is hunky-dory in our lives we miss seeing God. When you face trials and you have no one or nothing else to depend on, you see God just the way Job saw God. It seems God doesn’t mind us being honest and telling him how we truly feel. God does not respond based on works. God responds to us because he’s good. God responds to a broken heart that sees Him.

God is angry at Job’s friends. He tells them they have not spoken accurately about Him the way Job has. God requires Job to pray for his friends. The friends that have wounded him. When Job was able to pray for his friends and bless them despite their harsh words, God restored back to him twice as much as before. God is not into accusations and works. God is into humility and forgiveness.

The trials were actually put in Job’s life not by the devil but by God. (Job 42:11)

There is another interesting outcome for Job after he had seen God and was restored. He put his daughters in his will along with their brothers. (Job 42:15). Women during this time period were not considered worthy of an inheritance. After Job saw God, repented and was restored, he could look at everyone differently. He saw everyone as having value.

Maybe our society right now could be healed if we could only see God.