Title

Be a Comforter

Scripture
I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all!
(Job 16:2)
Devotional
We never beat people up, we only beat them down. It is easy to throw stones. It is much more difficult to remove them. People need encouragement. They know their condition. They know where they are. What they want to know is how to get from where they are to where they need to be. It is O.K. to tell them how and why they are in their present state. It is not O.K. to stay there. When a shortcoming is shared and repentance is evident, press onward. Job’s “friends” were so concerned with what Job had done to deserve such a state that they neglected to help him out of his circumstance. Their words made them comfortable, but brought no comfort to Job. Isaiah writes, “‘Comfort, yes comfort My people!’ says your God.” Therefore, when a friend is down, do not beat him further down. Comfort him. Do not condone his condition. Get him out of it.
Text For The Day
Job 16:2: “I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all!”
Thought For The Day
“Once during Queen Victoria’s reign, she heard that the wife of a common laborer had lost her baby. Having experienced deep sorrow herself, she felt moved to express her sympathy. So she called on the bereaved woman one day and spent some time with her. After she left, the neighbors asked what the queen had said. ‘Nothing,’ replied the grieving mother. ‘She simply put her hands on mine, and we silently wept together,’” Unknown 
Questions To Ponder
 
Morning Study Guide
Defining:  “Comfort”: To make one’s life a little easier, to give hope and encouragement, solace and compassion, to strengthen. 
 
Referencing: “How then can you comfort me with empty words, since falsehood remains in your answers?” Job 21:34
 
Applying: Let us heed the words of the apostle Paul to the Christians at Thessalonica, “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all,” 1 Thessalonians 5:14.