Great Yearning

"For I know that my Redeemer lives,
      And He shall stand at last on the earth;
 ²⁶ And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
      That in my flesh I shall see God,
 ²⁷ Whom I shall see for myself,
      And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
      How my heart yearns within me!"  Job 19:25-27

Every time I find myself in the book of Job, I find myself so greatly encouraged in my walk with God.  I know many people view it as a book filled with suffering and torment, but I honestly don't see that when I read it.  I see an amazing story of a pure heart, and all kinds of wonderful truths about our God.

I mean, just look up above at verse 27 here.  Job is in a miserable place.  He has lost everything, and his very physical body is suffering.  His friends are speaking falsely to him, and even his wife has chastised him and called him dirt.  But look- despite all this, despite all that he is suffering, his heart is yearning for the moment when he will see God.  This is very telling, because Job could be talking about how much he is longing for his body to be whole again, or how much he is longing for the suffering to end.  Instead, his heart is longing for his Father in Heaven.  His heart is full of hope that soon he will have his moment of actually seeing God. 

Job knows that he's lived a good life.  He knows where his heart lies, and while his friends and wife accuse him of wrongdoing and of sinning against God somehow, He KNOWS that he's done no wrong, and he is looking forward to meeting his Creator with a pure heart. The thing that has me thinking is, could I say that?  If I thought my end was near, would I be looking forward to meeting God?  Or would there be fear there- fear for the wrongs hidden in my heart?   Something to think on isn't it?

What I do know is that Job had a great yearning in his heart to see God, despite the loss of absolutely everything in his life.  He doesn't blame God for one minute for any of his troubles, and his heart reflects that.  What does your heart reflect today?  I know I hope that my heart reflects a desire to please my Father in Heaven.