How can we show compassion like Job requests in Job 19:21 today? Setting the Scene Job, stricken in body and spirit, pleads: “Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.” (Job 19:21). His words frame a timeless call: when someone is suffering under God’s sovereign hand, friends are to step in with visible, tangible mercy. Job’s Cry for Compassion • Job is not asking for solutions, only for shared sorrow. • He longs for presence, not platitudes—he needs his friends to feel what he feels. • His request presumes that compassion is a command, not a courtesy. What Compassion Looks Like Today • Entering another’s pain: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15) • Bearing burdens: “Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2) • Comforting out of the comfort we receive: “The God of all comfort… comforts us… so that we can comfort those in any trouble.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) Practical Ways to Live It Out 1. Show up • A knock on the door, a text, a hospital visit—physical presence communicates, “You’re not alone.” 2. Listen without correcting • Let the sufferer speak freely; hold back the urge to diagnose or theologize. 3. Relieve immediate pressures • Bring a meal, help with childcare, cover a bill—“faith without deeds is dead.” (James 2:15-16) 4. Speak hope from Scripture • Read passages of comfort—Psalm 34, Isaiah 41, John 14—reminding that God has not abandoned them. 5. Pray on the spot • A brief, sincere prayer ushers God’s presence into the moment, even when words are few. 6. Continue past the crisis • Follow-up calls, anniversaries remembered, ongoing help—true compassion outlasts the initial shock. Motivations Rooted in Christ • We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). • Jesus identifies with the afflicted: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for Me.” (Matthew 25:40) • Genuine compassion proves living faith: “If anyone… sees his brother in need yet fails to have compassion… how can the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17-18) Walking This Out Together Compassion, modeled by Job’s plea and fulfilled in Christ, is more than feeling sorry; it is active, sacrificial involvement in another’s suffering. As we obey, hearts are softened, burdens are lightened, and the watching world glimpses the gospel in motion. |
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