February 28

After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions. — Job 42:10 BSB

Many people who try to be comforters only add to the pain they are trying to relieve. No skill requires a more delicate touch than that of a true comforter. Most of us have hands that are too rough to be laid on hearts that are aching and tender. It’s no surprise that Job felt his friends were “miserable comforters.” At first, he was not even in a place to pray for them. But until he could pray for them, the blessing he longed for could not come to him.

There’s a lesson for us in this. Others may have wronged or hurt us in some way, and we may struggle to forgive them. But as long as we hold onto that unforgiveness, we are shutting out God’s blessing from our own lives. Job’s willingness to pray for his friends showed that his heart had softened toward them, that he had forgiven them. Only then did the blessing come to him. When we can sincerely pray for those who have wronged us, misjudged us, or spoken hurtful words about us, we are in the right place to receive God’s blessing.

Job also showed that he was ready to come out of his own sorrow and begin helping others. We don’t find comfort by focusing on our own grief or staying in the darkness of our own pain. We must forget ourselves and begin to serve others and seek their good. Only then will we find the light of God’s comfort. Self-centered sorrow is still selfishness, and selfishness in any form will miss God’s blessing.