Job 42:5-6 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

All of his life, John Wesley had been very pious. He got up at 4 A.M. and prayed for two hours. He would then read the Bible for an hour before going to the jails and hospitals to minister to all kinds of people. He would teach, pray for and help others until late at night. A turning point for Wesley came, however, when he found his way to a chapel on Aldersgate Street in London. He heard a man reading a sermon that described a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Wesley suddenly realized that he was trusting his good works. That night he wrote in his journal: “About a quarter before nine, while he described the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

Job also had been a pious man. Even God pointed him out as an extraordinarily righteous individual. But apparently something was lacking. He had heard about God and had been obedient to the degree that he knew how. But when he met God in the whirlwind, a new dimension was added to his life. God was no longer simply what he had heard about; He was now someone Job had personally experienced.

Those who grow up in the church often spend their early years hearing about God. Based on what they hear, they may lead a moral life and feel they know Jesus Christ. Yet they have had no personal encounter with Him. He is the God of their heads but not their hearts.

Make sure that your faith is not based merely on what you’ve heard. Seek a personal encounter with Jesus Christ through His Word. Allow God to become a real person in your life, not just someone you’ve heard about. Jesus came seeking you (Luke 19:10); now it’s your turn to seek Him.

HEARING IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCING.

WOODROW KROLL
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