Do you have a friend who will sit with you in your pain? One who will give you time to feel the onslaught of emotions and whose mere presence offers comfort? I’m blessed to have a husband and another dear friend who will do that. They don’t have to say anything; they only need to sit close. I like to think I do the same for them.
My new chronological Bible treats all of Scripture as a continuous story written by God. It places the book of Job right after Genesis and the story of Joseph. No one can be sure when Job was written or by whom, but many believe its literary style perhaps places it around the time of the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Reading about Job’s suffering on the heels of Joseph’s redemption uniquely enlightens us in two profound ways:
- Suffering comes to both the prideful AND the humble, and
- God’s deliverance takes time on purpose.
Because Jacob, Joseph’s father, had shown such overwhelming favor toward Joseph, he became arrogant. His arrogance inflamed his brothers’ resentment, pushing them to sell Joseph into slavery and years of suffering. Yet, God was still with Joseph. Time after time, God came to Joseph’s rescue. He freed him from prison, elevated him, and placed him in a position to save his entire family from starvation. Most of all, God freed him from his arrogant pride.
Job’s story offers a contrast. Job had reason to be prideful. After all, he was considered “the greatest man among all the people of the east.” (Job 1:3 CSB) Instead of arrogance, we find Job a humble, God-fearing father praying for his less-than-perfect children. Satan comes after him, tempting him to doubt his faith after losing his children, livelihood, and health. Like us, when overcome with grief or pain, he asked, “Why? Why? Why?” His three friends sat silently with him for a while but then compounded his pain with accusations of arrogance and unrighteousness. Job spoke honestly with God and even questioned His actions. Perhaps a more honest conversation is what God wants from all of us. God stayed with Job and eventually responded, even though He did not provide the answers Job sought. Like Joseph, Job was ultimately restored with more than he could have asked for or imagined.
These two stories teach us that suffering comes to us all – the prideful and the humble. Amidst their chaos, Joseph and Job still proclaimed God’s sovereignty and their reliance on Him. Each wanted relief from their circumstances, but both were made to wait. Their prayers eventually changed not only their circumstances but also profoundly changed them! It was in the waiting that God did His most excellent work.
I never want to be, but I have been like Job’s friends. I’ve offered platitudes in the waiting. You know the kind: “God’s got this!” “Everything happens for a reason.” “Just give it to God.” “Everything works together for good.” While all of these words are 100% true, they offer little comfort to the one in pain. These words are better suited for times of reflection after the intense heat of suffering has cooled. When writing of Job’s three friends, Bible commentator Francis Andersen said it best, “True words may be thin medicine for a man in the depths.”
Sitting quietly with others in pain allows us to reflect on our painful times. It reminds us that we ALL need someone more powerful to be in control. It reminds us of our hope for better days; if not here, then in our next life. Hardship keeps us longing for home. Oswald Chambers said, “It was grief that brought Job to this place (looking outside himself for answers), and grief is the only thing that will; joy does not, neither does prosperity, but grief does.”
Job declared, “For [God] is not a man like me, that I can answer him, that we can take each other to court. There is no mediator between us.” (Job 9:32 CSB) We have that mediator that neither Joseph nor Job had. We have Jesus and His Spirit offering us comfort and peace and interceding for us at the throne of God. If only we could remember to sit quietly with Him in our pain and let Him hold us close! If only we could allow His presence to flow through us when we sit with others in their pain! If only we could remember that better days are ahead! Then, “we [could] rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” (Romans 5:3-5 NLT)
God, give us the courage and patience to wait for your deliverance! Help us remember the One who will ALWAYS tend to the onslaught of our emotions and whose mere presence offers indescribable and matchless comfort.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT)
