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"THE WATCHFUL EYE OF GOD" "I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be." (Job 7:20-21)Job was a godly man. He wasn’t walking in any willful sin, and God wasn’t angry with him. But he was struggling through an extremely difficult season of suffering. His friends offered him little to no comfort, insisting that no one could suffer like he was, and it not be because God was punishing him for sin. In chapter 7, Job seemed like he was ready to throw in the towel. He didn’t necessarily agree with Eliphaz’s reasoning in the previous 2 chapters, but at the moment, he couldn’t see any other explanation for his afflictions.Now folks, that is often the way it is in the middle of a storm, isn’t it? The waves of life crash over the sides of our little ship and nothing seems possible. Job was struggling to find a purpose, some kind of meaning for his pain.When God called the apostle Paul in Acts 9:16, Paul that he would suffer for Jesus’ name. As you read through the Book of Acts, you'll see that he did indeed suffer. He was stoned, jailed, flogged, and shipwrecked. So, when Paul says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28), we know he knew what he was talking about, God orders and orchestrates every event in our lives to accomplish good in us, both for our immediate and eternal benefit. Not just most things or a majority of things, not 99% of things, but ALL things will work to our good. Paul was able to rejoice in suffering because he knew what suffering produced in his life: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18).I recently read a story about a pilot who was flying his plane above a mountain road. As he flew, he noticed a car trying to pass a semi-truck. However, the man in the car couldn’t see around the truck due to the dips and curves in the road and so he was stuck. The pilot could see that there were no other vehicles in the area, and that the car could safely pass the truck. However, all he could do was sit up there and reflect on how from his vantage point he could see what the man in the car could not see. Friends, it's the same with our Heavenly Father in our lives. His guiding eye sees along that road each of us travel. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to trust Him this day He grants us, so that we may be able to look forward to the next day He graciously gives us.