May the mumbling commence!
When do we need our friends to be the most
reliable? When, if not the tough
times? Sometimes, tough times are
exactly when people dry up and leave us.
It is a truth that Job knew well.
Read from Job’s words in chapter six:
"One should be kind to a fainting friend,
but you have
accused me
without the slightest fear of the Almighty.
My brother, you have proved as unreliable
as a seasonal
brook that overflows its banks in the spring
when it is
swollen with ice and melting snow.
But when the hot weather arrives, the water
disappears.
The brook
vanishes in the heat.
The caravans turn aside to be refreshed,
but there is
nothing there to drink,
and so they
perish in the desert.
With high hopes, the caravans from Tema and
from Sheba stop for water,
but finding none,
their hopes are dashed.
You, too, have proved to be of no help.
You have seen my calamity,
and you are afraid.” (Verses 14-21)
Waters of friendship sometimes overflow the banks and
sometimes dry up into parched river beds.
Where are our friends when we most need them? If they are good friends, they are by our
side… being present for us. If they are
second rate friends they may disappear into their own fear.
What do people have to fear from people in distress and
anguish? Job suggests that they fear
that the person in trouble will ask for aid… too much aid. So the friends disappear. It is easier to walk past on the other side
of the street than put myself at risk by helping.
And maybe people are afraid of what the distress and
anguish of their loved ones will mean for them in the future… or what it will
remind them of in their past. Maybe
distress is too close to home, so to speak.
Let’s make a promise to one another to be there for each
other in times of distress. Duress, if
we confront it together can lead us further down the path that Christ Jesus has
blazed for us. Read from the words of
Paul in Second Corinthians chapter seven:
Please open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone. We have not led anyone
astray. We have not taken advantage of anyone.
I'm not saying this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in
our hearts forever. We live or die together with you. I have the highest confidence in you, and my
pride in you is great. You have greatly encouraged me; you have made me happy
despite all our troubles.
When we arrived in Macedonia there was no rest for us.
Outside there was conflict from every direction, and inside there was
fear. But
God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by
the arrival of Titus. His presence was a
joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you.
When he told me how much you were looking forward to my visit, and how sorry
you were about what had happened, and how loyal your love is for me, I was
filled with joy!
I am no longer
sorry that I sent that letter to you, though I was sorry for a time, for I know
that it was painful to you for a little while.
Now I am glad I sent it, not
because it hurt you, but because the
pain caused you to have remorse and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow
God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For God can use sorrow in our lives to help
us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of
sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death. (Verses 2-10)
Let’s open our hearts to one another so that we may
receive encouragement from the Lord. Pain
and remorse, when coupled with repentance – a true change in our ways, will
work for our salvation.
It is a risk,
but it the most acceptable risk of all – the risk to love. Let’s open our hearts!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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