Job 11-14

"My eyes have seen all this, my ears have heard and understood it. What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you! If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom."

Another of Job's three friends at his side, Zophar, have told him that if he'll just confess whatever evil deeds he must of done, God will restore him. "If you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then you will left up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear." And the above quote is Job's response to the three friends.

As I shared on my last post, if I was one of Job's friends, I would probably be thinking just like them. But what do you say in a presence of someone going through a great trial? I wouldn't know what to say. And if I was to say anything, I think I would end up coming up with reasons for their suffering. Kind of speaking wrongly on behalf of God...

Many times, the best thing to do to encourage those that are suffering is just to quietly listen. Our pride kicks in so often whenever we see people suffering. We feel the need to give them advice on how to get out of their circumstance, such as how to go about getting a better job, how to find someone to marry, how to raise your kids better, etc. When we find ourselves in a better position than others, we can't keep our mouth shut. And if we don't actually say these things out loud, we usually say them in our hearts.

But Job said he is not inferior to his friends. And we have to remember that we are not superior to those that are going through trials. In fact, we are not superior to anyone else at any moment. We are all saved by grace and grace alone.