Job 4

When it happens to you

_{Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope? ~ Job 4:6}

I have a lot of opportunities through serving and being part of different groups to encourage others who are going through tough times. I’ve experienced many hardships myself, and God has always been faithful. I love sharing testimonies about how He brought me through, especially when it can speak to someone’s situation in a relatable way.

Recently, I found myself in a moment of struggle, a real disappointment. I had taken a step of faith, believing it was something God had placed on my heart, but things didn’t turn out the way I expected. Instead, I ended up feeling discouraged, embarrassed, and humbled. I tried to keep the right attitude, but the truth is, I wrestled with it for days, distracted, disheartened, mentally preoccupied and even hurt.

Shortly afterward, I was in a small group when someone asked, “How do you respond when life takes an unexpected turn?” If they’d asked me two weeks earlier, I would have said confidently, “I trust God through everything.” But after my recent setback, I realized how easy it is to say the right thing when you’re not in the middle of the storm and how difficult it is when you are right in the middle of it.

This situation opened my eyes. Until you go through something personally, you don’t truly know how you’ll respond. That’s why we always show compassion and grace to those around us who are hurting. We don’t always need to explain their pain or fix their faith. Sometimes the best thing we can do is simply walk alongside them, praying, encouraging, and reminding them they’re not alone. No judgment. No blame. Just love.

In today’s reading, we see Job’s friend Eliphaz finally break the silence. At first, he sounds supportive, even reminding Job of how he was known for encouraging others and supporting them in weak times. But he quickly shifts to implying that Job’s suffering must be his own fault. That’s often what we are tempted to do. We try to assign blame or make sense of someone else’s pain. But true comfort comes not from fixing or philosophizing, but from compassion and presence.

Here are some practical things you can do to apply this principle in your own life:

1. Examine your own response to setbacks. Are you giving yourself grace, or judging yourself too harshly?
2. Let compassion guide your conversations. When someone else is struggling, resist the urge to explain or correct, just listen and support. 
3. Speak truth over your situation. Even when your emotions falter, let God’s promises be the loudest voice.
4. Stay rooted in reverence. Job 4:6 reminds us that reverence for God brings confidence, and integrity brings hope. Lean into that when your feelings waver.

You can get started today by following the suggestions below:

• Start your day in the Word. Anchor your emotions in God’s truth before challenges come.
• Journal your honest thoughts. Let God into your process, He’s not intimidated by your struggle.
• Reach out. Don’t isolate. Find someone safe to pray with or share your heart.

Today I want to encourage you if you’re walking through something hard, you’re not alone and your struggle doesn’t disqualify your faith. Pain does not equal punishment. God sees your heart and honors your perseverance. Integrity and reverence don’t exempt us from trials, but they do give us the strength to endure them. Trust that what you’re walking through now can deepen your compassion, refine your faith, and prepare you to comfort others with the comfort you’ve received.

Today’s scripture reading: Job 4

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied to Job:

2 “Will you be patient and let me say a word? For who could keep from speaking out?

3 “In the past you have encouraged many people; You have strengthened those who were weak.

4 Your words have supported those who were falling; You encouraged those with shaky knees.

5 But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart. You are terrified when it touches you.

6 Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence? Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?

7 “Stop and think! Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed?

8 My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same.

9 A breath from God destroys them. They vanish in a blast of his anger.

10 The lion roars and the wildcat snarls, but the teeth of strong lions will be broken.

11 The fierce lion will starve for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness will be scattered.

12 “This truth was given to me in secret, as though whispered in my ear.

13 It came to me in a disturbing vision at night, when people are in a deep sleep.

14 Fear gripped me, and my bones trembled.

15 A spirit swept past my face, and my hair stood on end.

16 The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its shape. There was a form before my eyes. In the silence I heard a voice say,

17 ‘Can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’

18 “If God does not trust his own angels and has charged his messengers with foolishness,

19 how much less will he trust people made of clay! They are made of dust, crushed as easily as a moth.

20 They are alive in the morning but dead by evening, gone forever without a trace.

21 Their tent-cords are pulled and the tent collapses, and they die in ignorance.

Journal:

• What is one recent disappointment or unexpected turn you’ve experienced?
• How did it challenge your confidence or hope?
• Reflect on how God might be using this season to grow your compassion or deepen your faith.