Topic: Show Compassion to Suffering Saints [Tuesday April 12, 2016]
Text: Job 6:1-13
Key Verse: “Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?” (Job 6:6).
Quite often in life, we find people who are going through difficult and harsh experiences. Such people always plead for help. And because it is impossible for a third party to fully appreciate what they are really going through, they tend to jump too quickly to usually wrong conclusions.
Job’s friends had gathered apparently to commiserate with him for the bad fortune that had befallen him. They didn’t understand what he was going through. Their criticism or unwise counsel was like a tasteless food. Indeed, it was like a fresh dagger struck into Job’s heart. He too didn’t understand why he was suffering so much. He desired that God would show him where he went wrong. Yet, while he waited for an answer to this historic experience, he continued to trust God. But as hope daily ebbed out of him, he started praying that God should destroy him.
This he thought would bring an end to his suffering. God did not grant his request, not because he wanted to prolong his suffering, but because he had better plans for him in his latter life. His friends too seemed to make his condition worse by looking for a human explanation for what was evidently beyond normal reasoning. There is nothing wrong in visiting those who are going through terrible times.
But we must be careful not to criticize them, as we may never be able to apprehend all the facts surrounding their conditions. We must also realize that they need our sympathy and understanding more than our advice. Therefore, our duty is to keep encouraging them to trust the Lord and assure them of His mercy and compassion.
Thought for the day: A caring word, a soothing touch and a gentle smile often serve as an elixir to those in pains.
Bible Reading in one Year: Acts 11-12
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
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