The slow walk

I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.                                     — John 14:16

Caleb was sick. Really sick! Diagnosed with a nervous system disease, the 5-year-old suffered from temporary paralysis. His anxious parents prayed. And waited. Slowly, Caleb began to recover. Months later, when doctors cleared him to attend school, all Caleb could manage was a slow, unsteady walk.

One day his dad visited him at school. He watched his son haltingly descend the steps to the playground. And then he saw Caleb’s young friend Tyler come alongside him. For the entire recess, as the other kids raced and romped and played, Tyler slowly walked the playground with his frail friend.

Job must have ached for a friend like Tyler. Instead, he had three friends who were certain he was guilty. “Who, being innocent, has ever perished?” asked Eliphaz (Job 4:7). Such accusations prompted Job to bitterly declare, “You are miserable comforters, all of you!” (16:2).

How unlike Jesus. On the eve of His crucifixion He took time to comfort His disciples. He promised them the Holy Spirit, who would be with them forever (John 14:16), and assured them, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (v. 18). Then, just before He returned to His Father, He said, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

The One who died for us also walks with us, step by painstaking step.

— Tim Gustafson

Father, we tend to say too much to our hurting friends. Help us choose our words wisely. Teach us to walk slowly with those in pain, as You walk patiently with us.

READ: Job 16:1-5

Sometimes the best way to be like Jesus is to sit quietly with a hurting friend.

Bible in a Year: Job 34-35 and Acts 15:1-21