Just being there is often enough!

I’ve started reading in the Old Testament Book of Job during my private devotions. This morning I was at the end of the second chapter: “When three of Job's friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and travelled from their homes to comfort and console him. Their names were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. When they saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.”

“No one said a word to Job.” were the words that jumped out at me. These three friends started off by saying precisely nothing! It is obvious that they cared enough about Job to have travelled to be with him in his predicament. And they shared his situation with him – sitting on the ground with him for a whole week! I was reminded of the old saying attributed to the North American Red Indians: “Don’t criticise the way a man walks, until you’ve worn his moccasins.” Although they later changed their positions, these men started out well.

So what lessons did I gain from those words? Well, the first one is that there are occasions when words are superfluous; when a hug speaks volumes more than a sermon.

My second lesson is that we shouldn’t be like Job’s friends by then going and spoiling everything by becoming “devil’s advocates”, or “witnesses for the prosecution”!

The third thought that came to me this morning is that part of the message of the Christian Gospel is that the Lord Jesus meets with us wherever we are, and shares in our circumstances with us. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament reminds us: “So then, since we have a great High Priest Who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (4:14-16)

Few of us, in the so-called “free” West, are likely to ever suffer the sort of difficulties and losses with which Job had to deal. But what an encouragement for those who are disciples of the Carpenter from Galilee: that we have One Who is closer than a brother and Who, whatever our situation or circumstances, has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Hallelujah!