There’s a reason Job’s friends angered God so much. They were miserable comforters and condemned the innocent to the point he wished he’d never been born. They made the wrong assumptions regarding Job’s affliction and made a life-altering traumatic situation much worse.
Unfortunately, this is still happening today. There are many people trying to seek the Lord who are condemned, bullied, and abandoned by those who claim to know God’s love. It has plagued the church system. Making assumptions about struggling people has turned a safe refuge into a place of survival that priorities judgment over mercy.
Affliction is a part of life. We don’t always have a choice or know its purpose. It’s not always a result of sin and the healing process is up to God, not up to us. We do, however, have a choice in how we treat people who are enduring it.
Unfortunately, many churches have chosen the way of Job’s friends. They’ve crushed wounded souls while expecting a blessing from God for all their sacrifice and knowledge. They’ve been deceived into a groupthink that twists the truth in order to follow the devil’s narratives. When obedience requires condemning the innocent, the church has stopped following Christ and has become an idol.
Healing is not neglecting God; it’s seeking Him. No one seeking the Lord should be condemned and punished for affliction or healing. Both are integral parts of the Christian life.
If you are the Job in this journey of life, the affliction and unjust treatment is very real, but there is an end to your story. The fire meant to destroy you will refine you. The Lord may use your resilient faith to pray for those who condemned and cursed you, those who despitefully used you, and those who discarded you.
It may be hard in this season, but the Lord has gone before you. He has already promised to redeem and restore you. He has already planned to be glorified in your rising.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. – John 10:10
I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath. – Matthew 12:6-14
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. – Psalm 147:3-6
I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all. Shall windy words have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? I also could speak as you do, if you were in my place; I could join words together against you and shake my head at you. I could strengthen you with my mouth, and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain… My face is red with weeping, and on my eyelids is deep darkness, although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure. – Job 16:1-5,16-17
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. 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. – Job 42:7-8
