Job 14-16 The magnitude of loss

June 5th, Job 14-16

       It's almost impossible to identify with the magnitude of loss that some people endure. I watched a 60 minutes episode about the "Lost Boys" of Sudan. Millions of children orphaned and displaced by war. Walking hundreds of miles across the desert to find refuge. Tragedy, heartbreak on a scale I could never imagine, never identify with in any full sense. Imagine telling one of these boys that if they hadn't been so bad, God wouldn't have killed their parents.
      10 children dead, all of them. 11,000 animals wiped out. A whole community of servants gone. Boils from the crown of his head to the bottom of his feet. Relief comes in the form of scraping your skin off with broken pottery and a wife who is (in the pain of her own loss) unwilling/unable to support you.
       It really boggles my mind how Job's friends have the nerve to say what they say. Although I have heard people say really terrible things to people mourning so maybe it's not too surprising. The bible says "Blessed are those who mourn, for they alone are the ones who will be comforted." In this instance it really seems like some friends who are uncomfortable with allowing someone to work through the pain of life. Mourning is the process of getting out of you, what is left in you. If it isn't allowed to come out in a healthy way, it will come out sideways.
       It will come out in the form of addictions, mannerisms, destructive behaviors, stress, mental health, all sorts of "ism's," that will shut down or shut off what is healthy. Today's friend tries to make the link between Job's expressed pain and him losing his fear of God. Like asking "God why is this happening to me" is an immediate loss of faith. Those boys in Sudan needed a bowl of rice, good water, and someone to give them a hug, listen to their story,acknowledge their hurt, and find a solution for the future.
       Job is a great book to learn what not to do with people who experience loss. Here's to learning and ministering in times of trouble.