Job 9:11

"Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not."

In the sorrow of Job, he was desiring for the Lord to appear and help him. He wanted to know why; he wanted to understand. Yet, there are seasons of our life that seems so dark. Even Christian, in Pilgrim's Progress, had to go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Death, sickness, trials, problems, sinful states are all season that are hard to bear. Lo, He goeth by me - word study, to go; Job declares that He knows the Lord God Almighty is Spirit and abides in all places and times. He is the Lord, and He is omniscient, omnipresent, and He is. And somehow, He passes by. We looked at the verse earlier, that when a spirit passed by his hair stood up. And so when the Spirit of God passes by, something happens and changes. the old hymn declares the fear of a child of God, 'Pass me not, O gentle Savior. . .while on others thou art calling , do not pass me by.' He goes, and He will go on by. What shall happen when the Spirit of God goes by me? Will He stop and address me? Will He leave me to my own ruin? Lord, have mercy and stop upon me. When Elijah was in the mouth of the cave, and the Spirit of God moved by him, He stopped and spoke in the still small voice which broke Elijah. Let my ears be listening for His still small voice, do not go by me, O Lord. Stay Thou with me, O Lord abide with me, fast falls the evening tide. And I see Him not - word study, to see; You see, God is God, and He is able to let us see Him or withhold Himself from us. He is able to open our eyes, 'Lord, open now thy servants eyes that he may see.' Or He is able to shut their eyes, 'Having eyes to see and cannot see.' A true child of God desires to see the Lord, 'Looking unto Jesus'. All the rest are content to go on without seeing Him. Job, in the midst of his sorrow, cannot see His light in his darkness. It may be that is your plight, there is sorrow all around. You cannot see the light of Christ shining. Your eyes are closed in fear and dread, lift up your eyes and see Him. He is there, for He is God and is able to reveal Himself to His own. Do you know Him? are you His child? Would a father hide himself from his child in need? Our heavenly Father is there look upon Him. the Grecians statment, that Philip brought saying, 'We would see Jesus'. Is that your prayer, your desire? Then know that He that created the eye, is able to open the eyes of the blind and let us see His glory today. He passeth on also - the work of God is ever moving; He is not held in one place but in constatn motion for the affairs of this world. So many souls, so many families, so much work within this old world. And God is guiding and directing it all. God is moving and we must see where He is moving. Where is the Presence of the Lord at work? Is it overseas? is it in your church? is it in you own heart? He passes on for their are other souls in need this day. He goes before me and I count it blessed that He works within me the same time He may be working within you. His eyes go to and fro throughout the whole world, He passes on. But it is not just in this present time that He is passing on, for He passes on from generation to generation. He is the beginning and the end and everything in between. He passes from generation to the next. We only last a brief time here, but He is constant and continues to pass on. We pass on from this life into eternity. But I perceive him not - the absence of the Presence of the Lord; Back to Elijah, the wind blew, the fire came, the earthquake, but the Lord was not in any of these. Enter into the church, is He there? in the Word, is He there? Of course He is, but we may not perceive Him. Too many look for the dynamic appearing of the Lord as what He did on mount Sinai. And many a person will move on, looking for something else but they did not perceive God in the midst of it. God has promised, 'I will never leave thee', yet howmany Christians feel they can utter the words of Christ from the cross, 'My God why has thou forsaken me?' When He has not forsaken them, because He cannot lie, He has promised it and will fulfill it. they just cannot perceive Him. The little chorus, "He is here", yet someone will say, 'Is He?' Yet, He hath said, 'Where two or three are gathered together, I am in the midst'. Perception is wonderful but also the heart that has little faith will discount what is happening because they perceive Him not.