Week 3: When Friends Fail
BEGIN this week by reading Job chapters 29-37.
Don’t worry, they aren’t super long!
REFLECT & PRAY
If you haven’t experienced it yet, you will. Friends will fail us at some point. Its not because they no longer care about us, its because no one is perfect. But sometimes, we can fall into the trap that our friend can and should do no wrong. After all, we’ve given them our trust. We’ve done life with them. They know our secrets and we expect that they are on our side. So what happens when one of our friends fail us? How do we respond and move forward?
Sometimes we give Zophar, Eliphaz, and Bildad a bad wrap because they’re advice was not helpful or correct. But they were there with Job, which means they deeply cared for their friend. But ultimately, they failed Job.
As you read through the scriptures for this week, look closely at how Job responds to his friends, but also what Elihu says to both Job and the others. When friends fail, we need to be able to forgive them. Maybe their failure means you can no longer be around them, but maybe there is a way to reconcile and move forward in your friendship. It won’t be the same as it was before, but it could be stronger for it.
Is there a friend in your life that you need to forgive for failing you?
Is there a friend in your life that you’ve failed and need to ask forgiveness?
How is Elihu’s response different than the other friends?
What is different about Job’s final response to his friends than the others?
How do you feel these passages relate to you and your life right now?
We would love to pray with you this week! Email Pastor Andrew.
If you would like to dig deeper, ask us for our 40 day devotional on Job!
