Comforters, please be quiet.

Scripture:
“Then they sat on the ground with him [Job] for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.” Job 2:13 (NIV)


“A word was secretly brought to me [Eliphaz the Temanite said], my ears caught a whisper of it. Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on people, fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice…” Job 4:12-16 (NIV)


“This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.”  Jeremiah 23:16 (NIV)


Application:
Comforters would do best to be quiet when someone they love is suffering. It’s better to be there and be silent, waiting on the suffering friend to speak, than to speak the wrong words. If they ask for instruction, respond gently. (This is the Jewish tradition of “sitting shiva”.) Never pretend to know the depth of their suffering or deliver some mystical “revelation” from the Lord for them. Pray for them. But don’t pile confusion, guilt, and more misery upon someone to whom the Lord will speak directly at the right time, in the right way, and with the right words.


Prayer:
Dear Father, I open my ears, heart, and mind to You. I also close my mouth. When I am suffering, please speak words of comfort to me. When I see someone else suffering, I pray that I will not speak or do anything that does more harm than good. Give me patience and wisdom, so that I will know when You are speaking. Amen.