The Yearning of the Heart

OT: Job 18-26
NT: 2 Corinthians 5:1-5

-------------------------

Job 19:25-27 -- I know that my Redeemer lives, / and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. / And after my skin has been destroyed, / yet in my flesh I will see God; / I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. / How my heart yearns within me!

It is a sad thing to lose hope. I'm reminded of a sailor who resigns himself to death when the waters rage high and his boat starts to fill and he cannot see land. "I am ruined!" he declares. "My death will be for naught!" He has lost hope. So he sees nothing but death. Hope keeps us afloat. It is what keeps that sailor treading water until help arrives. It is what kept Job going during his great ordeal. He didn't understand why God was allowing him to suffer but he had hope that he would one day see God face-to-face, and that God would one day reign on the earth.

What Job experienced in his suffering is what I call the "yearning of the heart." It is that soul-deep longing to see God, to speak with him face-to-face, to fall down at His feet. It is a longing to be anywhere but earth, a desire beyond words. Job was longing to see the Lord in his body, even though he knew that time and disease would try to destroy his body. I think that's what he means by "after my skin has been destroyed." Yet Job held on to the hope that even though his suffering was painful and very real, he would one day see God. And he could not wait for that day! Can you?

Be God's.