Use your experiences with pain to help others

“If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which

produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.” These words by Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 1:6-7) remind us of the fifth and final marker of the pathway to a deeper experience of God during times of suffering.  Succinctly stated, suffering puts us in positions of helping others in their times of pain.

The Book of Job provides biblical support for the idea of using one's experiences of suffering to help others. Job's journey through suffering and his eventual restoration highlight several aspects of how personal suffering can be leveraged to support and benefit others. Here are key points from Job that illustrate this concept:

1. Job’s Role in Praying for His Friends

After Job's friends have provided misguided counsel, Job prays for them at God's instruction. This act of intercession is a direct application of his experience of suffering to help others, demonstrating forgiveness and compassion.

Job 42:10 “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.”

God commands Job to pray for his friends as a means of reconciliation and correction. This act shows how Job's personal suffering and subsequent faithfulness are used to aid those who have wronged him, highlighting the redemptive aspect of using one’s suffering to benefit others.

Job 42:7-8 “After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.’”

2. Job’s Compassion and Understanding*

The restoration of Job’s fortunes and the support he receives from his friends and family after his suffering underscore the role of communal support. Job’s experience of suffering and his understanding of pain enable him to offer compassion and empathy to those around him.

 Job 42:11 “All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.”

3. The Value of Empathy in Counseling

Job acknowledges that if he were in his friends’ place, he would offer comfort and encouragement. This acknowledgment highlights how experiencing suffering oneself can lead to a deeper empathy and a more compassionate approach when supporting others.

Job 16:4-5 “I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you. But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.”

4. The Role of Honest Expression in Support

Job’s humility and repentance, acknowledging his limited understanding, reflect how suffering can lead to personal growth and greater capacity for helping others through genuine understanding and support.

Job 42:6 “Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

5. Sharing Wisdom Gained from Suffering

Job reflects on how he used to help those in need, including the poor and the orphan. His suffering and subsequent reflections deepen his understanding of justice and compassion, which can be used to assist and guide others.

Job 29:12-17 “Because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them. The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing. I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.”

Summary

The Book of Job supports the idea of using experiences of suffering to help others in several ways. Job’s personal suffering leads to acts of intercession and compassion, demonstrating how one’s trials can be transformed into a means of supporting and benefiting others. Job’s journey reflects how suffering can deepen empathy, inspire genuine support, and lead to meaningful assistance for those who are in need. By reflecting on his own experience and showing compassion to others, Job embodies the biblical principle of using personal pain as a source of strength and help for others.