In the beginning, Job’s three friends got it right. That is, when they saw their friend being subjected to immense loss and suffering, they shut up. They simply but tenderly just came alongside their friend.

^Text: 11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. ¹² And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. ¹³ And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. (Job 2:11-13)

Sometimes the wise thing to do is say nothing. Just come alongside the hurting person and weep with those who weep. Just be there. It’s not the time to sermonize. It’s not the time for a lecture. It’s a time just to be a friend to the person that’s hurting. And sometimes being a wise friend means shutting up and just letting him/her know you’re there if and when the proper time comes to talk.

Encouragement: When we study the life of Job, when we read the entire book again and again, we see a man that God used to teach him (and us by extension) that God uses our suffering to remind us that he is there in it. He was there before it. He will be there after it. And sometimes the wisest and most loving thing we can do is be silent.