God Hears

by Charles R. Swindoll

Read Job 42:1--11

When the day of reckoning arrives, God is always fair. He blesses those who have walked with Him. He forgives those who bring their offerings and humble themselves before Him. God restores. God rewards. God heals. God honors Job, who prayed for his friends with an open heart. God noticed it all. I suggest you underscore Hebrews 6:10 in your Bible: "For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints." Eugene Peterson, in The Message, renders those first words "God doesn't miss anything" (Hebrews 6:10, The Message).

Some who read my words have been terribly abused. You have been victims of the worst kind of mistreatment. You have been taken advantage of by someone you trusted. You have been abandoned by your mate, treated unfairly, ripped off. You've lost a fortune through a fraudulent scheme. Every one of us could give hell stories of abuse and neglect, misrepresentation and unfair treatment that have never been made right. So, please return to this great truth: God does not forget. He just doesn't adjust His plan to our timetable. His Accounts Settlement desk doesn't operate on a nine-to-five schedule. He doesn't handle our cases when we want them handled. I wanted God to zap Eliphaz the very moment he said that first insulting word to Job. He's waited through all the sarcastic speeches, stayed silent through all the insults. Finally, He says, "Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, you have been wrong."

God heard! Yes, He heard! He didn't say anything at the time, but He heard it all. He is not unjust to forget one idle word. And I can assure you, He didn't overlook one wrong act committed against you. He has a perfect plan. His plan is unfolding. When His timetable says, "Now," justice will roll down, and His Accounts Settlement desk will take swift action.

God's arrangement of things is not a frustrated plan. God is not sitting on the edge of heaven, biting His nails, wondering what He's going to do about our world. He knows exactly what He's going to do and when He's going to do it. Job sees that clearly . . . now. He realizes, finally, that God doesn't miss anything.

He hasn't missed anything in your life either.