Whilst reading Job, I realize that sometimes we can comfort people by just being with them. Our presence matter more than words.
For people going through very tough times/serious illnesses, it is difficult to find the right words to say.
Job's wife (I wonder why she was not taken in the whirlwind with the children) probably screamed at him and could even have asked him to take his own life.
Job 2:9 "Then his wife said to him "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
From her words, it is obvious that she blamed God for Job's suffering.
Job 2:10 tells us how Job answered her
"But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity? In all this Job did not sin with his lips"
In the same chapter, we read about 3 of his good friends who by contrast reacted differently to his situation. They heard about his predicament, made appointment to see him to "mourn with him, and to comfort him". His friends were - Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar.
So severe was Job's condition that they did no recognize him. What was their reaction?
1. They wept
2. They tore their robes
3. They sat down with him on the ground 7 days and 7 nights
"....no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great" Job 2:13
They left the comfort of their houses to sit in the midst of the ashes and to identify with Job in his suffering.
In contrast to his wife, they did not ask Job to curse God nor blame God for his suffering.
Lord JESUS - grant us the grace to weep with those who are in pain and suffering. Give us the wisdom to speak or not to speak at the right time with the right words of comfort. In JESUS Name. Amen.
