Insight on what might unconsciously lead a sincerely sympathetic, well-intended believer to inadvertently join the ranks of Job’s miserable comforters.
Serious food for thought here as every follower of Jesus Christ does well to examine the motivations of the heart before they speak and act. This is an area with which I personally struggle and it’s complicated by the truth that we are often driven by conflicting motivations. A sincerely righteous desire marred by sinful selfishness – at least in my case.
I am so thankful that I have the privilege of walking through the valley of the shadow of death with Melanie. It’d be my preference than neither her nor I, or any other parent for that matter, ever find themselves on this path, but this heartbroken mother has served as a blessing and encouragement to me and many other grieving parents. She turns our hearts and minds back to the lover of our souls when our hearts are torn between longing for God’s presence and comfort and a desire to hold Him at arm’s length for failing to intercede and prevent our suffering.
(Clink on the link entire “view the original post” highlighted in red below to read the article and “thelifeididntchoose” to access Melanie’s blog.)
Most of us know the story of Job.
A righteous man, singled out by Satan to be tempted, ends up bereft of his children, his fortune and his health.
Sitting in the dust, scraping the pus from his wounds, three friends join him in his misery.
And they make it worse.
It’s hard to imagine that after burying a child, anything that people say or do can make you feel worse-but it is possible.
I had many friends and family that brought genuine comfort to my spirit.
They were the ones who spoke courage to my battered heart and helped me face another day when all I wanted to do was crawl under the covers and pray that the sun refused to shine. And I will never be able to repay them for that kindness.
But there were others….people who wanted to make sense of a senseless tragedy.
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