Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. -Job 2:11-13
Have you ever witnessed someone in your life go through something so tough, so hard, so trying and yet... you have no idea how to help them, or what to do to ease their burden?
Everyone knows the story of Job. He seemingly had it all- family, friends, wealth, and good health. But then Satan took it all away.. He buried his children, he lost his way of living, and even his own health declined until he sat.. not knowing how he could live another day in the pain he was in.
I have witnessed health problems of friends... and had no clue how to help. I have seen church families suffer financially... and not known how to help. I have seen death come suddenly and without warning... and been unable to dry the tears of their eyes.
What do you say to someone who miscarries for the third time after years of praying for a child?
How can you relieve the pain of the widow or widower who loses a spouse unexpectedly?
Can you really do something significant enough to help ease the burden of the friend who- no matter how hard they work- always seem to find themselves on the wrong side of job cutbacks?
Job's friends take a lot of heat from us as we analyze what they said and how "unhelpful" they were to Job and his understanding of the trials before him. But honestly.... would we have known what to do or say either?
What has always stuck out to me and impressed me about his friends is simply that even though they didn't know what to do or what to say, they still took action.
How many times have I watched someone go through some sort of pain and because it was uncomfortable for me... I just let the opportunity pass by and do absolutely nothing?
These three friends got together, they made a plan, and they came to be with their friend.
The bible tells us that they just sat down beside him.. picture it in your head.. no one spoke.. they just sat together in silence because of the weight of the situation.
I suppose this hits me so close to home because I have had friends like this. Ones that have shed tears for me, that have come and spent time with me... sometimes no one said much, and sometimes they distracted me completely with something fun to go do. I know they probably had no clue how to help ease my burden, but they still took action and made me feel so loved in the hard time I was facing.
I realize this is just a small take away from the overarching principles in the book of Job, but it's a powerful reminder to me that sometimes all someone in pain really need is to know we care.
We don't have to have the perfect words that fix everything.. But by showing up when tragedy strikes, grabbing their hand, shedding a tear with them and even sitting beside them in silence for a bit- maybe, just maybe they will feel less alone.
Don't underestimate how important the little things are. The casserole dishes, the sympathy cards in the mail, the invitation to hang out. Because I promise, it means a lot to someone going through a hard time to know they are loved.
And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
