Where's your focus?
Job challenges Bildad's counsel, asking, "To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit came from you?" (Job 26:4). His friends focused on condemning Job's sin rather than lifting him from despair. Their words dug a deeper pit instead of pointing him to the One who rescues.
This reminds me of Psalm 40: "He brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps" (Psalm 40:2). Job's friends fixated on his shortcomings rather than his Savior. Yet Job's response exalts God's mighty power. Did they notice how much Job glorified the Lord?
There's a time to address sin, but there's also a time to point to the Creator of all things. Job's friends could have shared the hope of Psalm 40:1: "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry." The best counsel in conflict points to Jesus-His works, His character, and His mighty hand that saves and lifts us from the mire.
Who can you encourage today by exalting Jesus? Who can you tell about His wondrous love? He is the One who sets our feet on the rock. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus-let's come to Him and lift Him up today.
To Know Jesus. To Live on Mission.