Originally posted: 8/16/2020

“Have You eyes of flesh?
Or do You see as a man sees?
⁵ Are Your days as the days of a mortal,
Or Your years as man’s years,
⁶ That You should seek for my guilt
And search after my sin?” (10:4-6).

Job is on a downward spiral. That is to be expected when we try to analyze our position and prospects, our situation and our standing, by our own wisdom.

And Job has plummeted, loathing his own life and ready to vent.

“I loathe my own life;
I will give full vent to my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul,” (10:1).

Have you ever been there? I have. You convince yourself to try the way of faith, to believe it will get better. But is that really the way of faith? Believing Him for improvement is vastly different than believing Him.

But Job has questions, and we most certainly would too. Job has now become convinced that God has His eye on him for one reason… to seek for his guilt and to search after his sin. And in this state of mind, Job presses for some kind of clarity.

“I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me;
Let me know why You contend with me.
³ Is it right for You indeed to oppress,
To reject the labor of Your hands,
And to look favorably on the schemes of the wicked?'” (10:2).

“Hey God, can you at least let me know why You have set Yourself against me while at the same time You seem to show favor on the wicked?”

Jeremiah found himself in a similar quandary.

Righteous are You, O Lord, that I would plead my case with You;
Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You:
Why has the way of the wicked prospered?
Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease? (Jeremiah 12:1).

When the wicked prosper, it just doesn’t make sense. It goes against mortal man’s understanding of justice on earth. And in this place of severe suffering, Job spews his allegations against God. Job acknowledges Him as the Divine Creator, but now he questions the way God has chosen to shape His creation. And as Job ponders his own state as compared to that of the wicked, you can almost hear him cry, “God, You’re not fair!”

And while Job assesses all of life through the lens of fragile flesh, He indirectly accuses God of doing the same thing.

“Have You eyes of flesh?
Or do You see as a man sees?
⁵ Are Your days as the days of a mortal,
Or Your years as man’s years…?” (10:4-5).

But we know, and really Job knew it too; He is far from mortal, He Is Immortal.

Immortal: “not mortal; not liable or subject to death; undying; imperishable; everlasting; perpetual; lasting; constant.”

God is Eternal; He has always existed and will exist forever. He will be alive forever; He is Immortal. And He does not see as a man sees, with limited understanding subject to death and decay. He alone is God Who possesses Immortality.

…He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen, (1 Timothy 6:15-16).

And really, it comes down to this: God is nothing like man. And although we were created in His image, sin has so corrupted us, that in and of ourselves, we are no longer anything like Him. He alone is Immortal; we are not. And while mortal man cannot see the Immortal God, there is nothing hidden from His Range of Vision.

Range of Vision: “The distance between the near point and far point of the eye; the maximum distance in which the eyes can see the things.”

“Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord,
“And not a God far off?
²⁴ “Can a man hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord, (Jeremiah 23:24).

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do, (Hebrews 4:13).

Consider His Immortal Range of Vision

• His Immortal Range of Vision sees the heart.
  • “…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart,” (1Samuel 16:7).

• His Immortal Range of Vision sees our fears.
  • I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
    And delivered me from all my fears, (Psalm 34:4).

• His Immortal Range of Vision sees our pain.
  • The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
    And saves those who are crushed in spirit, (Psalm 34:18).

• His Immortal Range of Vision sees our afflictions.
  • Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
    But the Lord delivers him out of them all, (Psalm 34:19).

• His Immortal Range of Vision sees our tears.
  • You have taken account of my wanderings;
    Put my tears in Your bottle.
    Are they not in Your book? (Psalm 56:8).

• His Immortal Range of Vision sees the beginning from the end.
  • “…For I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is no one like Me,
    ¹⁰ Declaring the end from the beginning,
    And from ancient times things which have not been done…” (Isaiah 46:9-10).

•  His Immortal Range of Vision sees our future.
  • “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope,’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

How do we respond to His Immortal Range of Vision?

Let’s just get this out in the open. We cannot hide from God.

“For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light,” (Luke 8:17).

And while there are times when it feels as though all clarity and understanding is hidden from us, let us trust His Immortal Range of Vision. There is nothing at all that escapes His sight or His concern.

We must choose to leave our concerns with Him; we must decide not to insist on having all the answers in matters that only His Immortal Range of Vision can grasp. He promises He will grant us His rest and hope when we do.

O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
² Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
³ O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever, (Psalm 131).

There is coming a day when every question that needs answering will be answered.

 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known, (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Until then, let us give up the wearying struggle to figure out everything that doesn’t line up with our mortal understanding. As we seek His Truth in His Scriptures, empowered by His Holy Spirit, we will learn to rest like a weaned child in Him, fully satisfied in His Immortal Range of Vision.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light,” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Let’s Grow Together!