Friendship During Loss
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. (Proverbs 17:17)
When you are going through a loss, you sorely need positive, encouraging, life-giving friends. Difficult seasons can bring out the worst in us; this includes bitterness, anger, sadness, and selfishness. In those times, we must remember that we weren’t designed to walk through life alone. We were created to thrive in the context of community. Therefore, one of the best things we can do during a difficult season is to gravitate toward our closest, truest friends.
Job attempted to gain encouragement from his friends after he lost everything, but his friends were far from being positive and life-giving. Instead, they were full of condemnation, using their theology as an excuse to tell Job he got what he deserved. Job’s friends thought they knew his heart, but that wasn’t the case at all. From Job Chapter 4, Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope? “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.” (Job 4:6-8)
No one can truly know the intention of your heart. You don’t even know that. Scripture clearly states: The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) Only the Lord truly knows your heart; He is completely aware of why you are going through various circumstances.
Unlike Job, I pray you have godly, encouraging friends who want to encourage you and build you up during a season of loss. As one man said, “A real friend comes in when the whole world goes out.” That’s the kind of friend you want during a time of loss.
Do you have a friend who will stick with you through the hard times? If so, I encourage you to thank God for your friend; then reach out to your friend and express your gratitude for their friendship. However, if you realize that your friends are like Job’s, I encourage you to ask God to bring a true, life-giving friendship into your life. There is nothing better than having good friends in your corner.
When you are going through a loss, you sorely need positive, encouraging, life-giving friends. Difficult seasons can bring out the worst in us; this includes bitterness, anger, sadness, and selfishness. In those times, we must remember that we weren’t designed to walk through life alone. We were created to thrive in the context of community. Therefore, one of the best things we can do during a difficult season is to gravitate toward our closest, truest friends.
Job attempted to gain encouragement from his friends after he lost everything, but his friends were far from being positive and life-giving. Instead, they were full of condemnation, using their theology as an excuse to tell Job he got what he deserved. Job’s friends thought they knew his heart, but that wasn’t the case at all. From Job Chapter 4, Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope? “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.” (Job 4:6-8)
No one can truly know the intention of your heart. You don’t even know that. Scripture clearly states: The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) Only the Lord truly knows your heart; He is completely aware of why you are going through various circumstances.
Unlike Job, I pray you have godly, encouraging friends who want to encourage you and build you up during a season of loss. As one man said, “A real friend comes in when the whole world goes out.” That’s the kind of friend you want during a time of loss.
Do you have a friend who will stick with you through the hard times? If so, I encourage you to thank God for your friend; then reach out to your friend and express your gratitude for their friendship. However, if you realize that your friends are like Job’s, I encourage you to ask God to bring a true, life-giving friendship into your life. There is nothing better than having good friends in your corner.
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