ARE YOU LIKE JOB'S FRIENDS?

I read the book of Job for years before I discovered the errors of Job's friends. We all know the calamities that befell him. Owing to this, his friends who came around to mourn with him ended up making unsavoury remarks about his integrity and purity. His friends couldn't comprehend why such calamity befell him because their belief is that righteous people do not face challenges of life. Very wrong mentality. Those that were meant to bring him word of comfort added to his pains. They insinuated that his sins caused what befell him, Job4:3-8, 8:20. Surprisingly, this is a man whom the bible said, "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil". KJV

The words of Job's friends didn't only grief Job, it griefed God as well. In Job 42:7-8, the Lord saw their words as a display of foolishness: "After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.*” God is not happy when you don't speak the right words to those in pains. You misrepresent God to the hurting when you speak as though God is paying them back for their evil. It is not everyone facing the vicissitudes of life that is reaping their evil and wickedness.

If you can't help the hurting to heal and find comfort, do not talk to them. Sometimes, those who break your heart the most during life challenges are believers. The moment some brethren see a child of God facing life's challenges, they switch over to the attitude of Job's friends. They easily forget that no one is exempted from facing life's challenges. Pastor Paul Ilo said, "You're either on your way into a trial, in it or on your way out of it". That hurting brother/ sister needs succour not an accuser. We often step into the ministry of Satan against our fellow brothers. We aid the condemnatory feelings and low self esteem people have during their trials instead of helping them out. If you want to be a good friend, help people to find inner healing for their pains and employ yourself as a personal intercessor.