My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Job 42:5 (NIV)
There was once a man who had many questions for God, and rightly so. In one day, the man’s enemies killed all but a handful of his servants, and stole 11,000 heads of his livestock. That disaster was followed by a strong wind that demolished his house and killed all ten of his sons. He had no idea what was happening or how the story would end. All he knew was his feeling of substantial loss, disappointment, hurt, pain, and the feeling of being stuck in a loop of disaster. That was Job.
What do you do when a broken heart disrupts your joy? When your spirit cracks open and the tears won’t stop. When you feel the pain of deep soul lesions, and want to give up?
Job has a lot to teach us about the times when brokenness steals that safe sense of hope. At the time he experienced all that loss, Job didn’t have any assurance that God would later restore everything to him, and more. He only knew the pain. Have you ever felt the anguish of being stuck in a terrible story, crying for help, and waiting for God to answer? Your joy is gone, and you can’t see the path ahead of you. Are you in that place now?
I’ve been there, and I can assure you God’s pen hasn’t slipped. He is still writing your story, and He is present when everything looks hopeless. God is still in control, and there is a sunrise coming within your story!
I love the verse above, that comes at the end of Job. “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you!” I pray this prayer when 
the winds of life threaten to knock me to the ground, and life seems at its most bleak. I don’t want to only hear about God; I want to see Him and commune with him in the dark places of my life.
the winds of life threaten to knock me to the ground, and life seems at its most bleak. I don’t want to only hear about God; I want to see Him and commune with him in the dark places of my life. Sometimes we must let go of our well-laid plans—the ones we make for safety and security—so we can grab hold of God’s purpose for our lives. His purpose and the story He wants to write with your life are always good. Trust Him. You have an author Who is intimately acquainted with the story and is writing those restoring chapters at this very moment.