Job 3:6 As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.
I have in the past made a joke out of this passage. It went something like this. Job was born on February 30th and he cursed the day he was born for so long, he cursed it right off the calendar. OK, maybe it isn’t all that funny, especially for someone who can identify with the pain that Job felt.
Chapter 2 of Job is where his three friends agree together to come together and try and comfort Job. It is obvious to me that these men cared about Job. They came from different regions as they did not live in the same area as Job. They recognized Job’s grief and for seven days said nothing as they sat with him.
Mourning is like that, they did good in my experience. Having suffered loss, I recognize that early words rarely are heard and if heard only fall on the ears and do not touch the heart. Jesus said to mourn with those that mourn, so this was good.
Then Job spoke cursing the day he was born. His expression of the depth of his pain is hard to hear. It was then after this that his friends tried to fix Job in their own strength and wisdom, which failed. This too is common among many of us. We turn to our own experiences, our own solutions, what worked for us and if that fails, feel exasperated. What went wrong?
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Jesus centered togetherness brings He who is able above all to heal into the event. We have to remember to bring Jesus to the gathering, we need to invite Him first.