Speak Words of Life

Job woke up with a start, gasping. Pain! That's all his mind could process. Pain, pain, pain. Massive amounts of pain. He threw the blanket off of him, and stared in horror at his calves and arms. They were covered in sores!

"Wake up!" His wife moaned, and he shook her hard. "Wake up," he hissed again.

She huffed and sat up. She stared at him for a split second and screamed, jumping out of bed and rushing to the other side of the room. "What's wrong with your face?"

"It's on my face, too?" Job touched his right check and flinched. He moved to stand up, crying out with pain. It didn't take a thorough examination to determine that the loathsome sores covered his entire body, from the sole of his feet to the top of his head.

His wife stormed from the room. Job limped along, trying desperately to follow her, but feeling like he would collapse any minute.

"First, He takes away our children, all our livestock, and now this?" His wife was furious. She picked up a water pot, and heaved it at the wall behind him. He tried to duck, but the motion was too painful, and he fell backwards.

Job moaned. That did not help. He carefully rolled onto his hands and knees. He knees scraped against shards of broken pottery, but that actually relieved the pain some. He picked up a piece, and stood up. Testing the effectiveness, he started scraping the sores on his arms. It was helping.

His wife was watching him in disgust. "Why?" Job raised his left eyebrow. "Why do you still hold onto your integrity? Just curse God and die. End your misery. End mine." A single tear coursed down her check.

Job felt his heart breaking. For the woman he loved. For all that they had lost. But he would not, could not do such a thing to his God. "You're the one acting foolish. How can I understand Yahweh's ways? How can I judge them? It would be foolish of me to blindly accept the good without the bad."

She started sobbing, but Job needed to sit. Needed to pray. Needed to have faith. Sadly, he wouldn't get any help with that in here. So he trudged outside with his piece of pottery, to sit in his pile of ashes.

Based on Job 2:7-10

"Then his wife said to him, 'Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.'" Job 2:9

"Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. But by the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed." Job 4:7-9

These are just some of the uplifting words Job had to hear from his wife and friends.

As we know from Job chapters 1 and 2, Job was not being punished for some horrible sin. However, his friends jumped to this awful conclusion that Job had sinned against God, and now God was punishing him. His wife had given up, and told Job to do the same. After losing their children, oxen, donkeys, sheep, camels, and a bunch of servants, and then she had to watch Job be struck with terrible sores from head to toe, she was just done. She was broken too, but instead of building up her husband, she tore him down.

When a friend or family member is going threw a difficult time, how do we respond. "Oh, you should have listened to me." "That happened because you were sinning." "Just give up, God's not going to help you." Are we speaking life, or are we speaking death?

Jesus was utterly truthful, yet always loving. His mercy and grace covered any sin.

"Let all that you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:14

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29

Instead of saying the first thing that comes to mind, we need to think about what we are saying. Will it destroy this person more? Will it damage their relationship with God even more? Will they feel like judgement has been passed on them, when we don't know the whole story?

"From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." James 3:10

Speak life, love, and encouragement to each other. Even something simple said in jest or momentary anger can plant a seed. Be careful which seeds you plant.


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