“But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.” Job 16:5.
Verse chosen from today’s Bible reading; Job 16, and Acts 21-23.
Job’s friends were not doing a good job of comforting him. In fact, they were making him more troubled than he already was.
If you recall, Job had lost almost everything but life itself. His “friends” were certain that Job had done something that caused God to treat him this way. To them, Job needed to ‘fess up to what it was.
Instead, Job insisted on a chance to find out from God what He had done wrong knowing that such a hearing was impossible.
In today’s verse, Job tells how he would have comforted his friends if they were in a similar predicament. He says that he would have tried to make things less awful for his friends.
How do I handle those in trouble in my own midst? One of my tendencies is to analyze, as Job’s friends did, the reason for the trouble. To second guess them. That is not comfort. A minister friend of mine says that when you are in the midst of a troubled person you should, “Show up and shut up.” Sometimes just being there is all that is needed.
Missing in my words is the need to be prayerful before and during such an interaction. God has promised “His Words” to those who belong to Him.
“Lord, I need You every second and in every sentence. Guide me, I beg. Fill me with You. I love You, Lord.”
I must rightly represent God in every interaction I have today.
His Word For Me 