Devotions 04-11-06

Job 11: 1-3
Then Zophar the Naamathite answered, "Shall a multitude of words go unanswered, and a talkative man be acquitted? Shall your boasts silence men? And shall you scoff and none rebuke?..."

Zophar answers Job and rebukes him for his honest questions as to what is happening to him. Zophar should have known Job better and should have been more comforting but that is the way I am sometime. I want to fix people the quickest way I can and it is hard to walk with someone through all they are suffering and be an encouragement to them and help us all to see what God is saying.

What Zophar is saying has much truth in it but it appears that Job probably shared with Zophar these same truths at one time. Zophar is not telling Job anything new and he is not being sensitive in how he is sharing. There is so much to learn from this book of Job in how to minister to our fellow believers. I have the advantage of knowing the full story and know what God is doing with Job. Yet to know how to do this right is not easy and would require much prayer and wisdom.

Lord, thank You for all the truths You have made known to me in this book of suffering. Help me know how to apply this to the way I deal with people. Help me to know how to handle difficult situations in my own life and those in my family.