What are friends for?
Friends are people with similar interests, who are always beside us, and helps us through the hard times. They can also be fun to hang out with; they could feel like a brother or sister to you. Keep in mind, not all friends are good. Sometimes, they could be manipulating you or influencing you in a bad way. These aren’t helpful friends; they only tear each other and us down.
The question I have lingering in my mind is, what are the ways that friends can be helpful? Let’s look at one of the ways friends can be helpful from a story in the Bible.
The Story of Job
Once, there was a man in the land of Uz. His name was Job. He was wealthy and had a large family, but most importantly, he was faithful to God. One day God allows Satan to test Job’s faith. Then Job’s entire world started to fall apart; one by one, his livestock, servants, and even his family was gone. Job also got boils.
Job then mourns, and his 3 friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come to visit. These three friends support Job by being there for him and staying silent for 7 days. After the 7 days were over, the three friends started to try to make explanations on why Job was being punished. Job insisted that he had done nothing wrong. This goes on for a while, yet Job still refuses to admit he had done wrong. His friends become angry with Job because he didn’t want to admit he sinned, and Job says, “I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all. (Job 16:2).
“After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has” (Job 42:7).
‘And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.’ (Job 42:10) Job prayed for his friends after they fell and said untruthful things about God.
What did Job’s friend do right? Well, they came to Job in his time of trials and suffering; they sat with him, gave him comfort, and were silent.
What can we learn from this story?
Friends can be blessings to each other through the little things. You probably won’t go as far as to spend 7 days in silence, shave your head and sprinkle dust on top, but being there for them and talking about their struggles is better than straight up ranting about how to fix their troubles.
Another thing I wanted to point out was that Job prayed for his friends. His friends had not spoken the truth about God, but still he prayed for them, and when he prayed for them, he served them, asking God for their sins to be forgiven. Job puts his friends before him, and that is what God appreciates.
If you ever see a friend in need of comfort, sit down and be that comfort and support that they need. Remind them that there is a Father full of love and kindness that watches over them.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
(2 Corinthians 1:3-7)
