“…today my complaint is bitter…” Job 23:2a

Job’s reply after Eliphaz’s accusations was measured. He qualified his re-entry of defending himself with the words, “Even today”… hinting at Job’s faith in the possibility of a better tomorrow. Returning right back into defending his innocence, Job described how, despite his groaning, he continued to interpret his circumstances as God being heavy-handed (v.2b).

Like his friends, Job, too, was grappling with a world-view where good people are rewarded with good outcomes. He found it conflicting to think that bad things could happen to good people. However, it was through Job’s life that God would teach just a lesson for all the world to discover.

Asserting himself further, Job stated he would go to great lengths to have a face to face with The Almighty… even if it meant traveling to His dwelling (v.3)! If it were possible for him to get an audience with The King of Kings, he declared he would state his case before Him, with a full arsenal of arguments with which to present to The Judge of humanity (v.4).

Stating his case was just the means by which Job could finally get an answer from God (v.5). He desperately wanted to hear straight from God’s mouth the reason(s) for his devastation. He wanted an answer to the question, “Why?”. Job’s humanity was crying out for understanding.

Pain and suffering are often the most unacceptable conditions to experience… especially if it occurs randomly in one’s life: the death of a spouse, child or loved one; the loss of work; a catastrophe destroying one’s home or vehicle; a prolonged illness; and many other horrific possibilities.

What made Job’s life even worse was his unsympathetic friends. When people go through hardship and friends begin to abandon them, the loss of their support network creates even a deeper feeling of loss and helplessness. Many people do not have the empathy skills to identify the symptoms of someone hurting. When this happens, those people usually take the path of least resistance – abandoning the relationship, cutting off all avenues of communication for restoring the connection. It hurts.

I’ve lost the connection of friends who I held dear. I’m sure those friends would quickly point to something I may have carelessly said or done… a common malady of those experiencing the difficulty of loss and sorrow. Had those friends been aware of the warning signs of one in pain, they may have chosen a different ‘solution’ to their conflict concerning me.

Developing empathy skills is a must if we are to commit to being lifetime friends. Life is too short to discard relationships which have been nurtured for decades… or even for just a few days. We were made to need each other, help each other, teach each other, and feed each other. Trashing friendships has gone viral in today’s world of convenience. Let’s face it, sometimes friendship just isn’t convenient. Being Jesus to our friends may demand walking the extra mile with them.

Have a blessed day… bless someone who needs your friendship.