Through Thick & Thin - Part 5 [Notes]

Relationships are so important, and yet they can be so difficult. The pandemic, social media and a divided country have not helped. How do we develop new relationships? How do we strengthen the ones we have? How do we repair the ones that seem broken? Why does it even matter?  

Join us for our series titled, Through Thick & Thin. We will explore ways to develop the kinds of friendships that will enrich our lives.

Today's Takeaway // Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 

Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
– Romans 12:15 (HCSB)

So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.8Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.
– Job 2:7-8 (HCSB)

“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.
– Job 1:10 (HCSB)

Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they looked from a distance, they could barely recognize him.They wept aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust into the air and on his head. Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense.
– Job 2:11-13 (HCSB)

They were willing to spend time with him.

They came to sympathize with him.

Sympathy (which comes from the Greek sym, meaning "together," and pathos, referring to feelings or emotion) is used when one person shares the feelings of another.
– Merriam-Webster

They came to comfort him.

They mourned over his situation.

They sat with him for seven days and seven nights without talking.

They went wrong when they became his judge instead of his friend.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.
– Hebrews 4:15-16 (HCSB)

Sympathy is when you feel bad for another person...but you don’t know what it is like to be in their shoes. Empathy is the ability to imagine oneself in the situation of another, experiencing the emotions, ideas or opinions of that person.
– Dictionary.com

Empathy is shown in how much compassion and understanding we can give to another. Sympathy is more of a feeling of pity for another. Empathy is our ability to understand how someone feels while sympathy is our relief in not having the same problems. When we relate with empathy, we give the other person space to own their emotions and feelings. We reflect on what they are feeling and provide a safe space for all emotions, even negative ones. When we relate with sympathy, we move into problem-solving mode. We have ideas and judgments about how the person feels and what they should do. This not only minimizes the person’s problems, but it ignores their feelings.
– Brene ’Brown

After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born. He said: May the day I was born perish, and the night when they said, “A boy is conceived.”
– Job 3:1-3 (HCSB)

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: Should anyone try to speak with you when you are exhausted? Yet who can keep from speaking? Indeed, you have instructed many and have strengthened weak hands. Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling and braced the knees that were buckling. But now that this has happened to you, you have become exhausted. It strikes you, and you are dismayed.
– Job 4:1-5 (HCSB)

In my experience, those who plow injustice and those who sow trouble reap the same.
– Job 4:8 (HCSB)

See how happy the man is God corrects; so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.
– Job 5:17 (HCSB)

Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite from the family of Ram became angry. He was angry at Job because he had justified himself rather than God. He was also angry at Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute him and yet had condemned him.
– Job 32:2-3 (HCSB)

A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends, even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty. My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi, as seasonal streams that overflow.
– Job 6:14-15 (HCSB)

Wadi: A valley, ravine, or stream that is dry except in the rainy season.

You are all miserable comforters. Is there no end to your empty words? What provokes you that you continue testifying? If you were in my place I could also talk like you. I could string words together against you and shake my head at you. Instead, I would encourage you with my mouth, and the consolation from my lips would bring relief.
– Job 16:2b-5 (HCSB)

After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has. Now take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you. I will surely accept his prayer and not deal with you as your folly deserves. For you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has.” Then Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
– Job 42:7-9 (HCSB)

1. Can you think of an example where someone entered into the joy or sorrow you were experiencing? What happened, and how did it make you feel?
2. Read Romans 12:15. Do you find it easy or hard to obey this verse? Explain your answer. How do you think we can grow in our ability to enter into the joy and sorrow of others?
3. What are some of the benefits of connecting with others in the good times and bad?
4. Read Job 3:1-7. How might you have responded to Job if you we represent when he began to speak this way? What would have been the most helpful response?
5. Read Job 4:1-8 and Job 5:8,17. What do you think Eliphaz was trying to communicate with Job in these verses? Where did Eliphaz go wrong?
6. How might you apply today’s lesson to your life?

Take You at Your Word // My Eyes Have Seen // Gratitude // You Matter to Me

Each week, a new devotional will be available. This devotional is based on the previous Sunday's message, and it aims to take the message further and help you dive deeper into the topic. You can find the devotionals at the link, or sign up to receive weekly emails.

You can watch or listen to past messages online!

Your financial gift to support what God is doing at The Ridge makes ministry possible. Thank you for your generosity—we cannot do any of what God has asked us to do here at The Ridge without your faithful and cheerful giving.