The Message Most Needed

I’ve been in the book of Job lately. Is it coincidence that my devotional reading coincided with my Covid recovery? Probably not. There’s always a rich deposit to be mined from every experience.

One take away for me and my husband has been thankfulness for the wonderful friends God gave us. Our weakened physical conditions, our faults and shortcomings, have been lovingly smothered in prayer and affirmation. Encouragement came from every direction. Making us rich.

Not so for poor Job. When his friends’ many attempts failed to reconcile the incomprehensible, things headed south. Their well-meaning consolations morphed into mean-spirited accusations. They assumed the worst of him. They looked for chinks in his godly character. They pounced on every perceived weakness and flaw. Whatever happened to love is ever ready to believe the best of every person? [i]

Thanks, but no thanks.

“With whose assistance have you uttered these words?” Job finally asked after being verbally filleted. “And whose spirit [inspired what] came forth from you?”[ii]

Written in the margin of my Bible, next to this verse, is this quote by David Wilkerson—

“What message is most needed by God’s hurting people?”

No suffering member of the body of Christ should have to question what spirit we are of when we minister to them. Nor should they feel like roadkill for buzzards. Let’s make it our mission to discover the hidden treasure in these flawed earthen vessels we all are housed in. What uplifting word will God entrust us with that will heal and bring out the best in others? [iii]

[i] 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 [ii] Job 26:4 [iii] 1 Corinthians 12:26; 1 Thessalonians 5:11