If Only: Eliphaz

There are a few times in my life that I have fallen short as a friend. There are also times in my life that friends have failed me. I have to be completely honest, it is the Christian friends that come down on the side of condemnation that can make it hardest to pull myself up from a tough situation. 

Eliphaz falls into the trap of condemnation. In Job 22, we hear condemnation. I think Eliphaz has a good heart and loves Job, I just don't think he understands. We know he is reacting out of fear and out of the only things he knows. He doesn't understand that the things Job is experiencing having nothing to do with Job as a person, so it blinds Eliphaz from the entire truth. 

Job 22:21-22 "Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.

 Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.

This is good advice and yet, it isn't because he doesn't know all the details.

It is easy to think of a to-do list when we don't know any other way. As a Christian friend I can tell you if you just lived with more obedience and peace life would be better for you. In that very statement lies the truth and a lie. God does promise us a life abundant, but it doesn't include a life without pain and suffering. We all endure trials and heartache. Remember that when you give a friend encouragement to be by their side in love and not in the place of giving the to-do's or the condemnation.  

"If only you had more faith"

"If only you were more obedient"

"If only you read your Word more"

"If only you prayed more" 

"If only you loved more, had more self control, had more patience..........."

While we all do our best to live in black and white, the story of Job reminds us that there is a gray. There are things going on we can't predict and we can't fix by our actions. 

Pray for Erika W this week.

Fear: Eliphaz

^{Job 6: 21} Now you too have proved to be of no help; 
       you see something dreadful and are afraid.

Have you ever watched or experienced a good friend going through something dreadful? Do you ask the why's? Do you respond like Eliphaz in Job 15?

I can relate to Eliphaz. I can hear his distress. I can imagine what it feels like to see a loved one suffer. I know that I cling more tightly to my convictions. I don't think Eliphaz is trying to be jerk, I just think he is scared. Afraid and without any good answers to comfort his friend. 

Sometimes, there aren't answers. Sometimes, there are not good reasons. Sometimes the good get sick and the young die too soon. Sometimes it is better to comfort our friends without words. Sometimes the things we want to say don't come out the way we plan and we do more harm than good.

Job 16 1-3

¹ Then Job replied:

 ² "I have heard many things like these; 
       miserable comforters are you all!

 ³ Will your long-winded speeches never end? 
       What ails you that you keep on arguing?

Encourage: Eliphaz

Eliphaz is the first of Job's friends to speak to him in his time of trouble. In Job 4 he encourages Job by referring to his character and strength. He is sure that Job must continue to hope because he is a good man and God is a just god. 

Job 4:17 'Can a mortal be more righteous than God? 

       Can a man be more pure than his Maker?

It is evident that Eliphaz doesn't have all the details. His counsel to Job comes from the things he knows. He is a man of knowledge and a religious man that believes the importance of God's discipline. In Job 5, you can hear the poetry in Eliphaz as he speaks of God's greatness. He even talks about how a man that is disciplined is blessed. 

 

Job 5:¹⁷ "Blessed is the man whom God corrects; 
       so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

As a friend or mentor many of us encounter opportunities to love on people. Each time we are given the opportunity to encourage and share God's glory. Most of the time we don't have all of the details. Regardless of who we speak with, we bring our past, our knowledge and our sense of religion to the conversation. Remember when you love on people that you are only getting a snapshot of their lives and circumstance. Be open to the plan that only God knows. Encouragement is a calling. It is you at the very moment someone needs to know something good. Continually share the characters of someone and the beauty of our Savior. Remember to not make too many assumptions, what you think is going on may not be the story at all. 

Pray for Erika W this week

Friends Are Friends Forever: Eliphaz

God gives us friendships to move us forward. To strengthen us, to guide us and to bring us joy. I have been blessed, abundantly, with many friends. Some, I know for only moments. Others know more about me than my family. And still others, are so close that regardless of time and space, there is never distance between us. Take a few moments today to acknowledge the friendships in your life. 

^{Job 2:11-13} When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Michael W Smith: Friends Are Friends Forever

Heavenly Father~ I thank you for the gift of friendship. For the people you have put in my life to love and care for me. I pray you grow a spirit of friendship in me. May I come when a friend is in need. May I laugh when it is the best medicine. May I climb mountains to overcome fears with a friend. May I celebrate birthdays we wish we didn't have to count. Use me in all of my friendship to be good council and an example of your amazing love. ~In your precious name.