“I (God) am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” Job 42:7b (NIV)
Love my girlfriends – don’t you? Nothing sweeter than the bond of friendship. We facebook and tweet. We laugh, shop, talk, pray and encourage. And that’s where we find a trio of men doing life together with Job. Their motive was simply to sympathize and comfort him in his darkest hour. Leaving their worlds behind, they dropped everything to come to his aid. When they saw him from a distance, they were shocked and wept bitterly. Tragedy had changed him, stripped him bare of joy and left him on the ground mourning his losses. Without uttering a word, they gathered at his feet; their quiet presence speaking volumes. But seven days later as the pain intensified, the trio transitioned into condemners – judges in disguise. Loyal, faithful to the end – not exactly how I would describe Job’s friends. Convinced Job was wrong, they discredited his blamelessness with their own self-righteousness. Wonder if we ever find ourselves doing the same thing? Like Job’s so called loyal friends, we pounce to point the finger and cast blame – or perhaps we just plain slip away because we don’t want to endure the pain. Rather than lovingly rebuke or waging war in prayer circles, we decide to condemn – sympathy and compassion thrown to the wind. What if Job’s friends had remained silent in prayer? What if they had brought hope and understanding rather than harsh condemning words? Job 42 unveils God’s view – the truth – the friends were wrong. Reprimanded by God and prayed for by Job – these friends became the recipients of God’s amazing grace – forgiven, redeemed and restored.
“Father, help us to be loyal, mature friends extending grace and love to the circle of friends You bless us with.”
For His Glory
Janet Martin
TRBC Coffee Break
