“Who has helped you utter these words? And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?”
Job 26:4
In this verse are the words of Job he spoke in response to one of his “comforters”, Bildad the Shuhite. Bildad, like the other comforters that had gathered around Job, assumed that he had somehow sinned greatly, and that God had poured His wrath out on him as punishment.
In fact, Job was “blameless and upright” (Job 1:1).
In asking “Who has helped you utter these words?” Job is questioning Bildad’s source, which in fact was Bildad’s own low functioning wisdom and analysis of Job’s condition as opposed to any insight from God.
What if, instead of heaping coals on Job’s head, Bildad followed Paul’s advice?
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up”
1 Thessalonians 5:11
When we see someone suffering, what if our first thought was to thoughtfully encourage them?
Most of us haven’t or won’t encounter someone who has lost everything and is covered in boils as Job was – however most of us have people in our lives who are quietly suffering day after day.
Think about a specific person in your life who is suffering in some way – pray that God would give you specific words of love for that person and pray for the wisdom and, if needed, the strength to say them this week.
