“So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head . . . Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”” (Job 2:7-9, ESV)
One evening as I was going through the treatment for metastatic bladder cancer, I remember an incident very vividly. For those who did not know, the oncologist gave me six months to three years. I knew that my boy was very concerned as he sent me a text regarding a dream he had. So, that evening when my wife and I prayed together, I prayed that my children and she would not be upset by what was happening. At that she broke down in tears.
She then gave me an exhortation. It was that she had the right to be emotional regarding me. She loved me and had been holding in the emotions for a long time. Now they came out. When she gave me the exhortation, I had to agree with her. You see, when one is hurting their loved ones are also affected. We often think about ourselves when we are physically or emotionally hurting, but we fail to understand how others are affected.
In the Book of Job, we see a picture of this. Job was miserable. He had already lost everything except his health. Then Satan sought the Lord to afflict Job’s health. The Scripture states, “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.” Job was miserable. Seeing this, “his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”
Now, praise the Lord that this is not how my wife handled my situation. However, our loved ones will respond in a variety of ways to cope with the emotional roller coaster through which they are going. They may respond with outbursts of crying, anger, depression, denial, and so on. Some may just want to get away from the issue, temporarily deserting. In Job’s wife’s case she just wanted it to be over and stated, “Curse God and die.” Job described her response as follows. “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak.” (Job 2:10, ESV)
The point is this. Often the afflicted one is not the only one afflicted. What I mean is that when one suffers, their loved ones also suffer. What should the suffering one do in the midst of this. First, realize that their loved ones are also hurting, not in the same way, but carrying an emotional load. Second, do not be surprised when your loved ones respond in some uncharacteristic ways. They are grieving for you in the situation. Third, seek the Lord that you may have compassion and forbearance to the response. Last, pray for them to experience the Lord’s comfort in the midst of their struggles.
Renewing the Heart 