Daily D – Job 4:8

by | May 20, 2024 | Daily D | 0 comments

David G Bowman Logo

Job 4:8  “In my experience, those who plow injustice and those who sow trouble reap the same.” (CSB)

“It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.” 

Job’s friend Eliphaz should have remained silent. He was a good friend providing presence. And then he spoke. He began well, as these words declare:

“Should anyone try to speak with you when you are exhausted? 
Yet who can keep from speaking? 
Indeed, you have instructed many and have strengthened weak hands. 
Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling and braced the knees that were buckling. 
But now that this has happened to you, you have become exhausted. 
It strikes you, and you are dismayed.
 Isn’t your piety your confidence, and the integrity of your life your hope?”

‭‭Job‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬-‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬

These words are kind and well-placed. He should have stopped there. He didn’t. 

“In my experience, those who plow injustice and those who sow trouble reap the same. 
They perish at a single blast from God and come to an end by the breath of his nostrils. 
The lion may roar and the fierce lion growl, but the teeth of young lions are broken. 
The strong lion dies if it catches no prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

If we were to paraphrase what Eliphaz said, we might say, “You’re the cause of your own problem.” There are two things wrong with this conclusion. First, it’s not true. Second, it’s flat-out mean. 

Eliphaz appealed to the rules of the game. Taking the right lead measures ensures the right outcomes. This is generally true. Things tend work out best for those who live right and well like Job. Let us quickly acknowledge the lack of guarantees that this is how things will work out in all cases. Bad things happen to the best of people, including you and me. 

When bad things happen, we need friends who have cultivated the disciplines of presence and silence. We do not need companions who attempt to solve our problems without our invitation. We do not need friends who are more interested in being heard than in listening to our groans of grief. 

There is a time and place for working out the causes of our unpleasant experiences. This should happen after the bleeding is stopped, the bones are set, and the pain has subsided. Romans 12:15 is helpful when it says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.”

Proverbs 25:20 is also insightful: “Singing songs to a troubled heart is like taking off clothing on a cold day or like pouring vinegar on soda.” The Message paraphrase says, “Singing light songs to the heavyhearted is like pouring salt in their wounds.”

Let us keep the salt far away from open wounds. Triage now. Philosophize later.

I will practice the disciplines of presence and silence with wounded people.

Our Father, it is a difficult dance knowing when to step forward and when to step back. Please teach me the steps. Choreograph my moves. Remind me as often as necessary to stop talking and to start listening deeply. Amen. 

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

CONNECT WITH ME!

Interested in learning more about Church Unique or Life Younique? Send a note through the Get In Touch box or Message me through the Facebook link above.

          Church Unique Logo          Auxano Logo

GET IN TOUCH!

READ MY BLOG!

Daily D – Psalm 119:1-8

Psalm 119:1-8

“Joyful are people of integrity,
who follow the instructions of the Lord.
Joyful are those who obey his laws
and search for him with all their hearts.
They do not compromise with evil,
and they walk only in his paths.
You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully.
Oh, that my actions would consistently
reflect your decrees!
Then I will not be ashamed
when I compare my life with your commands.
As I learn your righteous regulations,
I will thank you by living as I should!
I will obey your decrees.
Please don’t give up on me!”

Daily D – 2 Kings 20:16-19

2 Kings 20:16-19 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the Lord: The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.”

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “This message you have given me from the Lord is good.” For the king was thinking, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.”

Daily D – John 16:33

John 16:33 “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Daily D – John 16:19-22

John 16:19-22 Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.”

Daily D – John 15:12-13

John 15:12, 13 “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”