Be a Job, Not an Eliphaz

Then he fell to the ground in worship. Job 1:20b NIV

Would you pay $906,000 for a $1.50 life jacket? That’s what an unidentified bidder paid for a life jacket worn by Laura Mabel Francatelli, a first-class passenger who survived the RMS Titanic’s 1912 sinking.

The RMS Titanic was a British luxury passenger ship that set sail from Southampton on April 10, 1912, on its maiden voyage to New York City. The ship was the largest ever afloat and was billed as unsinkable. Yet on April 14, the ship hit an iceberg and sank in the early hours of April 15, carrying an estimated 1,500 passengers and crew to their deaths.

Francatelli and 11 others survived in the ship’s lifeboat No. 1, which was launched despite having a capacity of 40. Its failure to pick up survivors from the frigid water became a source of controversy. (CBS News on Google, April 18, 2026).

“I promise I will never let go, Jack. I’ll never let go.” These are the words from one of the most unforgettable scenes in the 1997 Oscar-winning movie Titanic. I am sure those who know the movie better than I do would list other incredible moments, but I think this scene captures the power of love and commitment as Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) hold onto each other, trying to stay afloat in the icy waters as the massive ship breaks in half.

The historical romance film features two characters from vastly different social and financial backgrounds who find love! This emotional scene shows Jack clinging to the drifting door panel while Rose lies on top of it. Jack encourages Rose, telling her, “You’re going to get out of here. You’re going to go on, and you’re going to make lots of babies, and you’re going to watch them grow. You’re going to die an old, an old lady, warm in her bed. Not here, not tonight, not like this. Do you understand me?” It’s a powerful exchange between two people in a hopeless situation. The scene ends with Rose being rescued and going on to live the life she was promised, though Jack did not survive.

We all enjoy stories of heroes and heroines who battle the odds to save others, to bring light to a dark situation, or simply to encourage others. Most of us would admit that the world seems a bit short on swashbuckling heroes. Yet we might be surprised that it does not take a massive Superman moment to change someone’s situation.

“Faith don’t come in a bushel basket, missy. It comes one step at a time. Decide to trust Him for one little thing today, and before you know it, you find out He’s so trustworthy you be putting your whole life in His hands.” (from Candle in the Darkness, Lynn Austin).

You find Job clinging to a sinking door, in need of rescue. His children have been killed in a horrible storm; his vast wealth is gone, his livestock destroyed or stolen, and he now has a host of physical ailments. So what does he do? “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship.” (Job 1:20).

Job did not know he was a character in a cosmic drama of good and evil being played out, nor did he realize he was part of the storyline. Then along came his three good friends who knew him well. For them, the storyline went something like this: bad things don’t happen to good people, so you need to repent. Job was not buying that narration.

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar had the opportunity to be Job’s encouragers, but in chapter after chapter they became his adversaries. Eliphaz gets the first chance: “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.” (Job 5:17). Then Bildad challenges Job, “How long will you say such things?…Surely God does not reject one who is blameless or strengthen the hands of evildoers.” (8:1a, 20).

Dismayed and broken, Job waits as Zophar speaks; surely he understands. “If you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by” (11:14-15).

Job could have related to those drowning in icy waters as an empty lifeboat sailed by them. Friends who had come to comfort became his tormentors. Yet he had one thing that would not sink: His faith in God. “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (19:23-27).

The story ends with a major rebuke from God to everyone. Job’s friends had misinterpreted the whole story, placing the blame on Job, and they receive a major reprimand from God. Elihu is completely dismissed. Job, who had blamed God and wanted a face-to-face meeting, comes to realize how foolish he was.

Job never fully knew the plot behind the story, but he did come to realize that God had never left him. “Though he seemed silent or even absent, God was no mere spectator of Job’s suffering. He had been with Job through the entire experience.” (NIV Quest Study Bible)

You may not know someone’s full story, but take time to be a Job, not an Eliphaz, in their life. “You are a house of prayer. A living gateway between heaven and earth. Go forth. Carry His presence into every space. Let His light shine through you. The world is waiting. Heaven is ready. And God is with you.” (Eric Celerier).

God is great!

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