Prayer: Father, I pray for those who are suffering in silence and in isolation today. May You comfort them and send them someone as your representative of Your comfort. In the name of Yeshua, amen.
Reading: Job 30 key: vs. 27-28
27 “My heart seethes and never stops;
days of suffering confront me.
28 I walk about blackened, but not by the sun;
I stand in the assembly and cry for help.
Attention: Have you ever suffered in silent isolation? Have you ever cried with or for someone who is suffering? Chronic pain wears on your emotions. Minutes stretch into hours, hours into days, and days seem endless. I do not suffer with chronic pain, but I have experienced two, extensive months long sciatic lower back pain injuries which were laborious. No position is comfortable, sleep is illusive, and one wonders if it will ever stop. Pain is cruel.
Job is crying out in agony today. His friends are there physically but are they there to comfort and support. I do not get the impression that they understand. They lack empathy. Their goal seems to be to win the debate. If they knew God like Job who is gaining a bigger understanding of God through his suffering, they might be able to genuinely empathize with him.
In his distress, Job is crying for help and his friends sit helpless and clueless. We do not see one example of his friends praying for him, reading scripture, singing, or playing music for him. Not one ounce of comfort since sitting in silence the first week.
The story of Job is a great text to ponder. If I were Job’s friends, what would I do for Job? If I were Job, what would I want from my friends? Preparation prepares one before the event.
Action: I will ponder today what I would do or want done in the same situation.
Yield: What a compassionate friend does when faced with a friend in pain.
Engage: What a compassionate friend does when faced with a friend in pain.
Relationship: Comfort with the comfort which God has given us.
Prayer: Father, prepare me today for that time when a friend or family member needs comfort. May I be a comforter like You. Amen.
Memory Verse: 2 Corinthians 1: 3-4
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement. 4 He encourages us in every trouble, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any trouble, through the very encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.
Music Video: Selah—You Raise Me Up
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”