Job Chapter 16 verses 1-5 (NIV)
Then Job replied: “I have heard many things like these;
you are miserable comforters, all of you!
Will your long-winded speeches never end?
What ails you that you keep on arguing?
I also could speak like you,
if you were in my place;
I could make fine speeches against you
and shake my head at you.
Job’s friends were indeed miserable comforters. They were very piously self righteous with little empathy in reality for what Job was going through.
Yet even the most well-meaning of us can make assumptions as to what someone is going through. As Job said, he too could make fine speeches if the situations had been reversed. But even if we have had a similar experience, that still doesn’t mean we deal with it in the same way – we are all different after all. So whilst saying to someone, “I understand how you feel” might seem like a helpful thing to say, we need to watch our words and act with empathy and discernment.
Dear Lord,
Help me to watch my words and to remember that You are the only one who really knows and understands us. I am truly thankful that You do. Amen.