Read Job 4 – 6
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, ‘If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking?’ Job 4:1-2 KJV
The best thing the friends of Job had done to this point was be present and quiet. People that are suffering need people around that are willing to be available and listen. Such will always be good medicine for them. But the friends of Job gave in to a weakness most of us have, they felt compelled to speak even though they knew their words would hurt rather than help. There is no question what they said and did was wrong because God rebukes them for it at the end of the book (42:7). The simple lesson for us is be quick to hear and slow to speak (James 1:19). Had Eliphaz and his companions continued to follow that plan they would have become known as the friends who comforted Job. We should strive, not to be like the friends of Job, but different from them. We should seek not to add to people’s pain, but bring comfort; that is exactly what God wants us to do.
Lord, I am ashamed that too often I have opened my mouth when I should have listened. Help me be slow to speak and quick to hear that I might be a friend who comforts, rather than a friend like those of Job.
A question to ponder: When I have friends going through difficulty do I comfort them with my presence and willingness to hear their pain, or do I become their counselor telling them how they need to change?
