Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away. – Job 16:6

Today's Scripture Reading (August 27, 2024): Job 16

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, "There is no grief like the grief that does not speak." Sometimes, grief speaks, and expressing our grief to a confidante makes us feel a little better. We see the light at the end of the tunnel in the conversation and begin to find ways to stretch toward it. But not all grief, like people, is the same. And some grief is silent; it can't be relieved through conversation.

However, being silent doesn't relieve it either. It festers, and there is no way to lessen it. All that can be done is wait. Time will slowly heal it, but this kind of grief leaves scars on us that we will bear for the rest of our lives.

It is this kind of grief that has Job in its grasp. Job has been silent, and the grief has crushed him. He has spoken of his grief, and yet the pain has not lessened. We know the end of the story. The day will come when Job's grief will diminish, although I don't think it will ever disappear. The end of the story tells us that everything taken away from him will be restored, but some things, like his children, cannot be replaced. That scar, especially of his lost children, will remain for the rest of his life.

But at this moment, all Job can do is suffer. The protestations of his friends aren't helping. Their comments are salt in the wound, making his pain worse. All Job can do is wait and hope for God to intervene, which he will do in his time.

I understand this kind of grief. I have suffered it, maybe more often than I really want to admit. I bear the scars. Even though time hasn't totally healed the wounds, I trust God to help me move into the future, like Job did. Sometimes, I, like Job, am unsure how to make it even just one more day without God. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 17