A thought by Charles R. Swindall, from his book, What if…God Has Other Plans?: Finding Hope When Life Throws You the Unexpected (p. 34). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
That is so easy for us to think, isn’t it?
Charles says, “Sadly, for many believers those things are what it’s all about. Nothing could be further from the truth. The book of Job, like no other book in the Bible, opens our eyes to an altogether different perspective.
“As Job suffered under the pain and shame of boils that covered his entire body, his wife urged this righteous man to curse God and resign to death (see Job 2:9).”
Charles goes on, “Incidentally, I urge caution against responding too harshly toward Job’s wife. She’s not Job; she’s Mrs. Job. She has a right to see her loss from another perspective. She offered the wrong counsel, and Job knew it was wrong. But this couple must have had the kind of relationship in which she felt free to speak honestly about her feelings. She wanted Job to find relief. From her perspective, he would be better off dead.
“Haven’t you said similar things about those who suffer and suffer and never find relief? Of course, we have all done so. But we must resist that sort of horizontal thinking—a perspective that focuses on the here and now and leaves God out of the equation. It helps no one.
“But please remember that Job’s wife had also lost ten children. For her, too, life had suddenly become unbearable. When you have opportunity to comfort one who has experienced such loss, it’s important to remember that we don’t know exactly the kind of pain someone else is experiencing. Guard against meaningless platitudes, empty clichés, and insensitive urgings to ‘just trust the Lord’ and ‘move on with your life.’ None of that helps, so don’t go there. During such extended periods of human suffering, it’s better to just offer your presence and an assurance of prayer. Resist preaching. Those who are suffering need compassion and tenderness.”
He then says, “In the face of it all, Job remained unmoved in his commitment to trust the Lord. Despite his wife’s urging, there was no thought of retaliation against God or of taking his own life. That’s because for Job, his life was not his own. Everything belonged to the Lord. His response to this series of devastating losses provides insight for all of us and helps answer the question for ourselves: What if we lose everything?”
And we need to have and to give compassion and tenderness and that commitment to trust the Lord in this time we are in, don’t we?
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