Behold, thou has instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands, thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou has strengthened the feeble knees. Job 4:3-4
Oh My! We could do with a few Jobs today! His friend Eliphaz is recounting how much help Job had been to many of those around him. I am sure that most people in Job’s day were just as selfish as those in our day. So a person who devoted so much of his life to being a help to others would surely stand out. Just as Christians should stand out today because of our willingness to help others. It’s the way Jesus lived, and it’s the way that His followers should live.
Job is first commended for being a good instructor. He taught many people about God and goodness. Many people were better equipped to live as they should because Job instructed them. To be an instructor takes more than a gift of gab. If you want to be an good instructor, you have to be knowledgeable and helpful. You must help people to grasp truths and use them. You must also have the wisdom to reach people’s understanding.
By strengthening weak hands, Job was enabling people to do their work and achieve the things they needed to achieve. Do we know what it is to help people reach their potential, to behave themselves in the House of God, to pick up the broken pieces of life and start over? We can start by being a good example and move on to mentoring those around us.
Job was also known for upholding those that were falling. We have some Christians with us today who are good at detecting when young Christians – or even a discouraged older Christian – are struggling with temptations and weaknesses. These dear folks know what to say, and know how to provide support and encouragement when it’s needed. Our Assemblies are so much richer because of these folks who have helped to prevent struggling saints from falling.
If strengthening the weak hands means helping Christians to accomplish what they should, strengthening the feeble knees means helping Christians to stand up for what they should. The world and the devil don’t want us to have a testimony. They don’t want those around us to know we are different because we belong to Christ. But there are folks like Job who encourage the saints to shine for their Saviour, to stand up and be counted as His.
Job was a good man in many ways, probably more ways than you and I can be. But he sets for us a good example of how to serve our Lord. -Jim MacIntosh