Tara-Leigh Cobble

And if He still has an assignment for me here, then I don't want to miss out on that either.

I trust His timing in it all.

In the second half of chapter 14, Job gets kind of bummed out talking about his future, which makes sense given all he's been through.

Let's cut him some slack and not rush him to healing.

After all, his friends certainly didn't offer him that grace.

They were not patient with his pain.

Okay, chapter 15.

This is where Eliphaz speaks again, falsely accusing Job, misunderstanding his heart and his motives.

He thinks Job's grief is a sign that he doesn't trust God.

Those two things aren't mutually exclusive.

Jesus grieved and mourned, and he is God.

I have so much compassion for Job here.

It's really hard to feel alone in your pain, but it's even harder to feel unknown in your pain by people who are supposed to know and love you.

In my Bible, chapter 16 is titled, Job replies, miserable comforters are you.

He's just shooting it straight.

He calls them out on being terrible friends.

In 16.3, he even begs them to be silent and to stop advising him.

Did you catch that?

He says, This whole section makes me want to think carefully about how and when I advise others.

God calls us to mourn with those who mourn, not advise those who mourn, and certainly not to condemn them for their mourning.