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On Godly Friends: Job & Friends - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others), March 4, 2025

P L U N D E R E R
Mar 4, 2025
3 min read

The Bible highlights why friends are significant and the need for godly friends. We previously considered the friendship of David and Jonathan, which spurred a covenant that even death couldn't destroy. We looked at the relationship between Jesus and His disciples and learned that godly friendships mean sharing wisdom and genuinely caring for a companion's interests.

Then, we also examined ungodly friendships and learned that such relationships result in failure and great loss. Examining these relationships taught us that we should pray for godly friends and be godly friends to those the Lord places in our lives.

Nowhere are these lessons more glaring than in the story of Job and his friends. The Bible recounts Job as God's servant more than once. He was described as blameless, upstanding, God-fearing, and a man who shunned evil (Job 1:8). When his friends heard he'd lost all his children and possessions, three of them visited him. Like Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar also believed in God. However, an act intended to comfort Job ended up being a series of condemnations.

This happened because they could not understand why Job would claim to be sinless in light of his situation. The more he insisted he was blameless, the more they maintained he must have been the most sinful. Their failure to understand that God could indeed allow His servant to suffer and a desire to counter Job's narrative caused them to speak untruthfully about Him. God later told Eliphaz that this made Him angry. He nevertheless instructed him and his friends to let Job pray for them so they would receive His mercy.

And therein lies a lesson about godly friendships. Yes, godly friends are to comfort one another. They should also be careful not to condemn. The word teaches us in Matthew 7:1 - Do not judge, or you too will be judged. It is easy to forget this in the face of people displaying pride, especially nowadays when hubris is the order of the day. However, the role of godly friends is to pour out God's love and not pour out their pettiness.

And if a godly friend receives guidance from the Holy Spirit that indeed their companion and fellow believer has sinned against God, or they have clear evidence of this based on God's word, then how they express that wisdom is important. A God-fearing person must remember 2 Timothy 2:24 - And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. If, after taking this approach, the friend remains stiff-necked, then the godly friend has every right to walk away (1 Corinthians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 2 Thessalonians 3:14; Romans 16:17). Arguing back and forth is not the godly solution. Proverbs 20:3 - Any fool can start arguments; the honorable thing is to stay out of them.

Job's story also reveals that godly friends can and should play a role in the deliverance of their companions. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar forgot the reason they came to see Job. It seems they equally forgot that they'd been so horrified when they initially saw the state he was in that they'd sat in silence for seven whole days.

Once they realized Job was convinced of his innocence, they should have allowed God to be the judge instead of trying to humble him. It would have been better to pray with and for him to be delivered from his affliction. Notice God used Job to pray for them so that they would receive His mercy. That is because godly friends are to be a person's prayer support team and intercede on their behalf, not sit in judgment. Indeed, believers are not to war alone.

In our relationships, we must remember what Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:39). This commandment applies to our friends. As those who profess our belief in the Lord and His Son, Jesus, we should be led by His word in how we interact with our friends. May the Lord help us all to be godly friends and to be surrounded by godly friends, IJMN. Amen. See you at Noon EST for fellowship when we will worship God and be godly friends to those whom we will pray for.

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Speak Truthfully About God - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) February 28, 2025

P L U N D E R E R
Feb 28, 2025
3 min read

God is loving and kind yet He takes seriously how people speak about Him, especially those who claim to know and serve Him. He expects His people to speak accurately and truthfully about Him. This should be no surprise because He detests all lies and deception. We learn more about how He treasures His reputation through the story of Job and his friends.

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar came to commiserate with Job when they heard that he'd lost his family and riches. Upon seeing his condition, they tore their clothes, covered themselves in dust, and sat mute with him for seven days.

Their words eventually began to flow and they weren't always the most charitable to Job. Although he asserted that he had not sinned against God to deserve his hardship, they insisted he must have done something wrong. And from their perspective, he was being punished for it.

When Job's trial ended, God spoke to Eliphaz, saying, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has..." (Job 42:7). God was upset about how He'd been characterized. The Berean Standard Bible quotes God as saying, "you have not spoken about me accurately." That was what He took issue with.

One can say many things about what Eliphaz and his friends said during their conversations with Job. On its face, however, their comments about God don't seem rude. None of them insulted the Lord. Nevertheless, their statements revealed that they could not imagine that God could choose to do things outside of their understanding. They put God in a box and did not realize that He could allow His servant to suffer and it wouldn't be to punish the individual.

How many of us have done something similar? How often have we applied our limited human thinking to describe and assess God? Unlike Job's friends, we have 66 books of the Bible which show that God can do things beyond our expectations. Take the different approaches Jesus used to heal blindness. In one case, He created a paste from His saliva and mud and placed that on a man's eyes (John 9:6). For the beggar Bartimaeus, sight was restored with the words, "Go...your faith has healed you." (Mark 10:52).

The Pharisees and Sadducees couldn't come to terms with the fact Jesus did things outside of what they'd been taught. Job's friends were no different. They assumed they knew exactly how God could or would do things. That hubris led them to unintentionally speak wrongly about Him.

This is a mistake many of us can and do make regularly. We need wisdom from the Holy Spirit to reveal when God is doing something outside the scope of conventional wisdom. The Holy Spirit will also help us discern between spirits to know when the Lord is not involved in something at all. This requires the investment of time and obedience. When we relate with the Holy Spirit this way, we limit the chances of speaking untruthfully about our Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit will break apart our preconceived notions and reveal the mysterious things.

Let us be grateful that although Job's friends stirred up God's anger, He showed them mercy. He instructed them to get animals for an offering and have Job pray for mercy for them. Neither Eliphaz, Bildad, nor Zophar were punished for their comments. Instead, they received God's grace and mercy, the same grace and mercy available to all who believe they have spoken untruthfully about the Lord. When we repent, receive mercy, and allow the Lord's Spirit to guide us going forward, we enjoy all the grace of our Lord Jesus and God, the Father. God bless you.

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Suffering Can Prove Qualification - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) February 25, 2025

P L U N D E R E R
Feb 25, 2025
5 min read

We often expect God to create an easy way out of trouble or provide a soft landing when we have to take a leap of faith. Many times, however, He chooses to do things differently from how we would expect. Often, He uses challenging situations to not only strengthen His children, but also to make a point about them. This was the case for Job, who was described as blameless, upright, and so God fearing that he shunned evil. Job 1:3 says he "was the greatest man among all the people of the East." God even boasted about him to satan, calling him "my servant" and said there was no one else like him in the entire world (Job 1:8).

And yet, God allowed satan to afflict Job. The devil was intent on destroying the man and caused him great harm. All to prove God a liar. So much so, that his friends insisted that his suffering had to be the result of living a sinful lifestyle. As each friend accused him, he held to his belief that he had not committed any sin to warrant his loss and pain. In his frustration, he demanded the Lord explain why he was going through such a tough time. God obliged him. The result was a chastened Job, who acknowledged that he should have been more careful how he'd spoken and thought about His Creator.

We are told in 1 Peter 5:10 - And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. Similarly, after Job had suffered for some time, the Lord restored all he'd lost and gave him double for his trouble (Isaiah 61:7). That wasn't all he got for enduring the challenges. God acknowledged him as His servant to his friends - the same friends who'd accused him of being everything but a saint. Speaking to Eliphaz, the Lord called Job a servant four separate times. He also instructed him to have Job pray over himself and the two others who had spoken incorrectly (Job 42:7-8).

God didn't stop there. Having shown that Job stood firm under pressure, the Lord also proved to satan that His initial assessment was indeed correct - the man was His servant. A man who weathered the worst that satan could throw at him and did not break faith with His God. In so doing, He proved that satan was nothing but a liar.

Job's experience teaches us many things. First, someone else's suffering may be God's tool to ultimately show that person approved. Therefore, we should not assume we understand what God is doing during someone's season of suffering. Consider the struggles faced by the first apostles and Christians. To the casual observer, God must have been upset with them to allow them face death and prosecution. They did not know that Jesus had warned that such would happen because they believed in Him (Matthew 10:22). We have the benefit of the Bible and the Holy Spirit to help our understanding. Instead of gossip and judgment, let us support the suffering with assistance (where we can and are equipped) and fervent intercessory prayers.

Second, it is easy to complain about God's pruning but He may be doing things we are unaware of. We need the patience and wisdom of God to hang in there until we receive breakthrough. God could be using our current season to prove us worthy of the title He lovingly assigns. To understand this point, imagine if Job had done what his wife suggested in Job 2:9, "curse God and die"? Or, if he'd crumpled under his friend's accusations and shifted in his faith that he had not sinned against God? He may have truncated his journey and his story would have ended differently. Instead of satan learning that it it gained nothing for troubling him, it would have had grounds to point at God and call Him a liar.

Third, just because a person has suffered does not automatically make them God's servant. While suffering can qualify someone for service, notice that God called Job His servant prior to his affliction. Job's commitment and obedience made him a servant long before satan attacked. In fact, that was partly why he was attacked. We must allow God to give us the title and appointment He desires. It is unwise to usurp His authority and go where we have not been trained for or sent to. The Seven Sons of Sceva tried this (Acts 19:13-16). They'd gotten away with it for a while but crossed their Vashti Line and were beaten black and blue. May that never be our portion IJMN Amen.

Fourth, God needs to tell us whether our suffering stems from His training or a sinful lifestyle. All men have sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). Yet, some struggles are a result of unrepented and/or repeated sin that prevent the blood of the Lamb from purifying believers who walk with the Holy Spirit (1 John 1:7). Sins such as fornication, sexµal immorality, occult practices, unforgiveness, hatred for God or others, and more dull spiritual senses so flesh dominates. When this happens, access to God's grace and mercy decrease and the devil has increased liberty to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Unlike with Job where God allowed his struggles for a short period, those living in perpetual sin walk further away from God's protection and bear the unpleasant brunt of satan's evil. Prayer and fasting will bring the insight needed.

Our suffering can teach us many things. It can teach the devil that God's children are worthy of the title He assigns them. May we submit to God's will especially when it is hard to understand why we are confronted by the storms of life. May the Lord grant grace, strength, and wisdom to not contribute to the devil 's evil underlying schemes. May we always be on the Lord's side and may our lives prove Him true in all we do, IJMN, Amen.

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