“I have heard many such things; Miserable comforters are you all!” – Job 16:2 

Scripture reading: Job 16:1-5

Job had lost almost everything. He was struggling with the fact that he knew and loved the Lord Jesus with all his heart and was yet suffering in soul, mind and body. He knew he had not betrayed the Lord. So the hurt caused by his close friends must have been very deep which you can see from his words. To add to that difficulty, they then accused him of being a wretched sinner whom God would soon kill. They claimed Job’s sin was the reason for his suffering. They were wrong.

His friends were theologically illiterate. But they were his friends. Job could have told them to “get lost,” as we might say today. He didn’t. He was godly. He knew he had to speak up. Consider what he said to them: Job 19:2,3 “How long will you torment my soul, and break me in pieces with words? These ten times you have reproached me; You are not ashamed that you have wronged me.”

A good friend will speak up when his friends are doing wrong. Job did not abandon them. He did not blast them as being evil. He spoke strongly and clearly.

Aren’t you too called to confront sin in a brother or sister? Yes, and you are to do so with words which are grounded in biblical truth. It doesn’t matter if you lose some friends. You should never try to keep friends through compromise. The honour of Christ is at stake.

Suggestions for prayer

Pray that you will learn to confront weaknesses in your Christian brothers and sisters in a godly and caring way, a way that is grounded on God’s Word.

Pastor Mitchell Persaud is a missionary at New Horizon URCNA, in Scarborough, ON, Canada, where he has ministered for over 20 years. Feel free to Google his name for more information about New Horizon. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. It is also available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.