He Looks

“He looketh upon men, and [if any] say, I have sinned, and perverted [that which was] right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.” (Job 33:27-28 AV)

This is one of my favorite passages of scripture.  We can easily apply this to salvation.  We know that if repentance is genuine and faith in Christ is solid, then our Savior and LORD delivers us from going into the pit of hell.  We live in the light of His presence for all eternity.  This is a simple concept to understand, and the hope of our eternal future.  However, we wrestle with this truth as we seek to love and serve God in the flesh.  We wrestle with God’s mercy and forgiveness.  Even if we accept it, there is a part of us that thinks we deserve to be perpetually miserable because our sins are so great.  Some have a difficult time living in the joy of the LORD because their guilty conscience will not allow it.  The answer is faith and acceptance.  Part of our downcast souls has to internalize Paul’s words when he says, “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Eph 1:6 AV)

This passage has appeared in my devotions before.  Each time I read this passage, a fresh insight is graciously granted.  The Spirit drew my attention to God’s proactive part in our repentance and restoration.  Note in particular that the LORD looks.  He looks upon mankind, and if any say they have sinned, He restores.  He looks!  Sometimes we get in our heads that God is too mighty to condescend to mankind.  We erroneously feel as though He sits on His throne and refuses to engage with the guilty in any way until the guilty approach Him with brokenness of heart.  We think God requires that we grovel to Him seeking mercy that may or may not come.  This is not the God of the Bible.  He proactively seeks those who wish to reconcile.  Yes, He requires humility and brokenness.  But He doesn’t require a broken spirit.  He requires a broken and surrendered will.  But not a destroyed reason to live.

I have known fathers to be so aloof from their children that any type of relationship with him destroyed the spirit.  This type of father limited his interaction to discipline.  There is no affirmation.  There is little encouragement.  As far as this type of father is concerned, the only relationship he and his child had was authoritarian/subordinate.  If the father had to look for an erring child, it wasn’t to reconcile a relationship.  It was merely to fix wrong behavior.  This is not the God whom we love and serve.  He searches for someone who is broken.  Not to break them further.  Rather, to restore and reconcile.  Our God wants a relationship with us.  Our sin is the hindrance.  Our Father knows this.  He also knows we are not naturally inclined to seek reconciliation.  At least not until the Holy Spirit has had plenty of work on our souls.  So, He looks.  And He looks.  His eyes wander to and fro on the earth to see if there is any who desires to know Him.  He looks.  He looks for me.  He looks for you!