“I Have Not Denied
The Words Of The Holy One”
Then Job answered: “O that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the
balances! For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my
words have been rash. For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit
drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me. Does the wild
ass bray over its grass, or the ox low over its
fodder? Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any
flavor in the juice of mallows? My appetite refuses to touch them; they are
like food that is loathsome to me.”
“O that I might have my request, and
that God would grant my desire; that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off! This
would be my consolation; I would even exult in unrelenting pain; for I have not
denied the words of the Holy One. What is my strength, that
I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient? Is my strength the
strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze? In truth I have no help in me, and
any resource is driven from me.”
“Those who withhold kindness from a
friend forsake the fear of the Almighty.”
Job 6:1-14
During Job’s time of grieving, his
three friends came to mourn with him and to comfort him. He wept in deep
sorrow, but their presence was a comfort to him. But then they began to
lecture. They told Job he must have sinned and that God was punishing him. When
Job was finally able to respond, he told his friends what he needed from them.
He asked for reasons to continue hoping, for kindness, and for words that did
not presume guilt.
Remembering the story of Job and his friends may help us when we don’t know what to say. When someone is grieving – listen, don’t lecture.
Our Daily
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