The opening lines of the book of Job introduce us to a man named Job from the yet-to-be-identified land of Uz. He is “blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” (Job 1:1, NKJV) Job had many children, wealth, and influence, but it would all come crashing down. Job is comparable in status to some of the most highly esteemed people in history, such as the president of IBM, the Kennedy family, and President Jimmy Carter, yet he lost it all. Unknown to him, a debate was taking place between God and the satan in the heavenly court. The satan discredits Job’s fear of God and makes the case that it directly results from God’s protective hedge. So, through two acts in Job 1-2, The satan is given the liberty to test Job’s faithfulness through a series of tragedies. Now is when Job’s Trauma becomes a shared burden by Job, his wife (Job 2:9), four friends (Eliphaz, Bildab, Zophar, and Elihu, Job 4-37), and God (Job 38-42).

Job’s three friends are often, rightfully criticized for their speeches in Job 4-37. Their messages of hope, warning, and rebuke were confused by the “Retribution Principle” directly opposed to God’s nature. Their misunderstanding of God leads to a misinterpretation of Job’s circumstances and poor advice. But before we throw the baby out with the bathwater, consider what they did right. The Bible, Old and New Testaments, are filled with complexity. For individuals with strong and weak personal characteristics, Job’s friends are no different. 

Job’s friends exemplified the simplicity and availability of the Ministry of Presence before they ever spoke a word to Job. As the name would suggest, the Ministry of Presence refers to an individual being physically present and emotionally available for those suffering. The seven days of Job 2:11-13 are an example of Job’s friends performing the Ministry of Presence. This Ministry of Presence correlates with many modern-day ministries, such as hospitals and bereavement visitations. Notably, Job’s friends “made an appointment together to come…mourning with him and comfort him” (Job 2:11), or in other words, being physically, emotionally, and intellectually present, respectively. We see the actions of mourning (though different from 21st-century norms) in Job 2:12, through tearing their robes and sprinkling dust on their heads. But what differentiates this portion of scripture from all other accounts of Job’s friends’ actions in the book is their silence. The Ministry of Presence is not about forming encouraging words but being there as a show of support. This three-verse section of Job displays their most effective form of comfort for Job, paving the way for Job to voice his suffering, beginning immediately in Job 3:1.

Brother or sister, to be a most excellent aide to those who suffer, you don’t need the wisdom of the ages to find the perfect wisdom; you only need the care in your heart to be present!