| Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
In Job 4-5, Job’s first friend Eliphaz speaks. He tries to answer Job about why he is suffering so much. How often do we say things from our perspective and not God’s?
He told Joseph that if you were righteous, without sin, none of these things would happen to you. But there must be sin in your life, and that is WHY you are going through all these problems!
There may be some truth to this in our lives. If we continue to live in unconfessed sin, we will reap the consequences of our disobedience. But we read that Job was a righteous man.
I remember when I had my stroke, and people would come to visit me in the hospital. They would say you are going through this because of sin in your life, or you are out of the will of God, or you do not have enough faith in your life.
There could be some of those things in my life when I was recovering from my stroke. But when you are in the midst of recovery or sickness, you need love and compassion.
When we minister or visit someone going through tests, trials, and suffering, we should encourage them, give them empathy, and pray in faith for them to get through this. Speak life into their lives!
Lord, give us the ministry of encouragement!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Church (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and significant emotional life experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is getting rave reviews. His daily devotional appears in this publication.
