Daily Devotion

Reflection: Terry
Voice: Jennifer

Don’t be like Eliphaz

Audio

Today is Thursday, the 12th of June. Let us gather our scattered thoughts and be still before Him.

We join the psalmist in praying the words of Psalm 143:1-8

143 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
    give ear to my pleas for mercy!
    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
² Enter not into judgment with your servant,
    for no one living is righteous before you.

³ For the enemy has pursued my soul;
    he has crushed my life to the ground;
    he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
⁴ Therefore my spirit faints within me;
    my heart within me is appalled.

⁵ I remember the days of old;
    I meditate on all that you have done;
    I ponder the work of your hands.
⁶ I stretch out my hands to you;
    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. 

⁷ Answer me quickly, O Lord!
    My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
    lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
⁸ Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
    for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
    for to you I lift up my soul.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.

The Scripture Reading is Job 4:1-6:

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

² “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
        Yet who can keep from speaking?
³ Behold, you have instructed many,
        and you have strengthened the weak hands.
⁴ Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
        and you have made firm the feeble knees.
⁵ But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
        it touches you, and you are dismayed.
⁶ Is not your fear of God your confidence,
        and the integrity of your ways your hope?

Reflection

Job had a hard job — not just enduring suffering, but living up to the expectations of others. He was a pillar in his community, someone who had “instructed many”, “strengthened weak hands”, “held up the stumbling,” and “made firm feeble knees” (Job 4:3–4). He was the one person leaned on in times of trouble.

So when disaster struck him, his friend Eliphaz had a pointed question:
“Why are you reacting like this, Job? If you trust God, shouldn’t that give you strength? If you’re truly upright, shouldn’t you have hope?”

In other words: “You’re stronger than this.”

We know that kind of “counsel,” don’t we? It sounds reasonable — especially when spoken to someone who has always seemed strong: leaders, pastors, elders, parents. But what Eliphaz offered was logic without empathy. And that’s not what hurting hearts need.

Yes, Job was a man of deep faith. Yes, he was blessed. But he was still human — capable of heartbreak, confusion, grief, and that haunting sense that even God had turned away. And remember: even Jesus, the sinless Son of God, cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)

If the perfect Son could feel forsaken, should we be surprised when Job — or any one of us — feels the same in moments of deep suffering?

So have a heart. Don’t be like Eliphaz. Or for that matter, Bildad the Shuhite or Zophar the Naamathite. The world doesn’t need more cold counsel. It needs compassionate presence.

Sometimes, the most faithful thing you can do is simply sit beside someone in silence. To weep with those who weep. To offer presence, not platitudes. 

We end with the collect our Lord has taught us to pray:

Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your name, 
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin 
against us.
Lead us not into temptation 
but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and 
the glory are yours
now and forever. Amen.

Be blessed by Taize’s Wait for the Lord

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Link to today’s full Morning Office

This daily devotion is based on the Morning Office. It is a project ignited by Revd Canon Terry Wong with clergy and members from various parishes contributing. It comes with selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture text, accompanied by reflections and prayers. There is an audio option, which often ends with a selected hymn or song. It will be best to both read and listen. We aim to help Anglicans to appreciate our liturgical resources while keeping to the devotional needs of Christians today. This project started on Ash Wednesday, 2025 and are offered for weekdays only. We appreciate feedback at info@mpcc.org.sg