Sitting with the Suffering

0:00No one said a word to Job because they saw how great his suffering was. Job 2.13 Welcome to today's encouragement from our daily bread. Sitting with the suffering was written by Adam R. Holes and read by Stephen Taber. Job 2.7-13 Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the souls of his feet to the crown of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die. He replied, You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God? And not trouble? In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. When Job's three friends,

1:00Ella Faz, the team of night, Bill Dad, the shoe height, and Zofar, the Neyamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him. They set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him. They began to weep aloud and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him because they saw how great his suffering was. Sitting with the suffering, written by Adam R. Holes Daddy, my head hurts. Daddy, I'm so cold. Daddy, can you rub my feet? A high fever, chills, and body aches, recently descended cruelly upon my teenage daughter. She wanted me to make it better, but mostly she just wanted me near. Eventually, we took her to urgent care.

2:01Virus, we were told. Nothing to do, but ride it out. I sat with my sick girl for hours that day, rubbing her feet, getting her medicine, desperately wanting her to feel better. Occasionally, my selfish side complained. This is hard. Indeed, it is hard to sit with people's suffering, to witness their hurt of close. Job's friends saw his suffering of close too. These three guys are often fairly criticized for their later poor treatment of Job, but it's easy to forget that initially, they simply sat with him. Job 2.13 says they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one set a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was. Job's friends remind us that when someone we love is hurting, it's our presence, our being there, whether we speak or not, that often matters most. Their example reminds us that even though we may not always know what to say,

3:04simply sitting with someone in their suffering may be the greatest gift we can give. Let's pray. Dear God, when those we love are hurting, give us the grace to simply be present with them, reflecting your comfort through our quiet care. Teach us the love as you do with patience, gentleness, and all listening heart. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. As you go about your day, reflect on these questions. Who do you know who's suffering? How might you be present to them?