Job’s friends came and for a week they did not say a word, “Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.” Job 2:13 This shows empathy and compassion to sit in silence, to keep one’s opinions to yourself. But this last for only one week.
However, once they begin to speak they become a great source of discouragement. Beloved, I have never met any one who has suffered to the degree that Job suffered but there was a time when the migraines were such that I called and asked for prayer and basically my faith was questioned. Did I have unconfessed sin in my life? The friends assumed the worst of Job. For such a tragedy, he must have sin in his life. So Job responds to Eliphaz in chapter 6. The problem is Job himself does not understand what he has done to have suffered so greatly the loss of everything except his wife. However, in verse 14 he has a valid point, he says, “When desperate people up on God Almighty their friends, at least, should stick with them.” Job pours his heart out in chapters 6 and 7, Job is seeking and asking God where is God in his pain. Pain inevitably afflicts each one of us. Suffering is unavoidable in this life.
In chapter 8, Bilad was the next to speak, once again he failed to see Job’s pain or to recognize that Job suffering was part of God’s plan for his life.
In chapter 9, Job defends himself, “God and I are not equals, I can’t bring a case against him. We’ll never enter a courtroom as peers. How I wish I had an arbitrator to step in and let me get on with life.” Beloved, Job did and we do have an arbitrator it is Jesus Christ. We will get to this in chapters 38-42, He is our redeemer. We can trust God now with our pain, our hurt, our finances, our plans, our year 2017.
Will you trust God with your 2017?
How long did the friends stay silent?
When desperate people give up on God Almighty, their friends, should stick with them. T/F.
God and I are equals. T/F
Listen to Holy Spirit by Francesca Battestilli
Dr. David Jeremiah states when friends or loved ones are facing trouble, remember:
- They do not need sarcasm; they need support.
- They do not need logic; they need love.
- They do not need experiences; they need encouragement.
- They do not need assumptions; they need assurances.
- They do not need advice; they need affirmation.
- They do not need pious platitudes; they need powerful principles. The Jeremiah Study Bible pg 669.
Beloved, the best thing you can do for someone is listen and pray. Will you apply this when someone is suffering hurt or loss?
Father God, let me always be slow to speak and quick to listen. In Jesus name. Amen.
