When Comfort is Needed

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him. Job 2:11 (New King James Version)

Job’s friends were not privy to the story behind Job’s story. They (along with Job) knew nothing of God’s conversation with Satan. How God extolled Job’s life and character and how Satan sought to use loss and pain to evoke Job to curse God. All Job and his friends could see was the result of Satan’s work. When life fell apart for Job at a proportion few of us could begin to fathom let alone relate with, they came for the purpose of being a help through grieving and comfort.

Although their intention was to bring comfort to Job it did not come about. They fell short of their goal. Why? Because they viewed Job and his situation with only one conclusion in mind….all this was happening because of sin in Job’s life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Their inability to see beyond their preconceived ideas hindered their ability to comfort. Have you ever been in their shoes? Wanting to comfort an individual in their time of sorrow, grief, or loss and not being able to? Looking to others to bring you comfort and coming up empty?

It is in our times of deepest hurt when we can become most teachable in the area of comfort. I look back on several years of deep grief and sorrow over the loss of a relationship and what comes to mind the most is the comfort God gave me through the heart and hands of friends. Although few could fully relate to or understand what I was going through they did some helpful things. They listened. In the very beginning of my darkest days they allowed me to talk about what had happened and how it was affecting me. In time, they gave me small doses of truth that I needed to hear, but the truth was said in love and with compassion. They directed me toward the God of all comfort, reminding me that God had not forsaken me or distanced Himself from my situation. They prayed for me and they prayed with me. They knew from whom my healing would eventually come. They let me know when they saw progress and change in me. They stayed with me. In all of that, they became my mentors in the art of comforting others.

Where am I today in light of this dark season of my life? For the most part, I am moving forward and only occasionally feel the ache. More importantly, I am now walking along side an individual who is in the midst of her own dark cave. What I received from others I now give to another.

Father, thank you for each person who listened, advised, and prayed for me. You used them in the same way You are now using me. I praise you for the comfort You give through others. Amen.

You Are My Hiding Place - Maranatha Singers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zej__yFPeK0

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.