“When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.” (Job 2:11-13, NIV)
There is a lesson here for anyone who might visit someone that is suffering: Words can (and often do) get in the way.
Job’s three friends were faithful, indeed: They took time to visit their afflicted brother. Job’s friends were sympathetic: They were so moved by Job’s dis-figuration that they wept and put dust on their heads (which was a sign of mourning or penitence). Job’s friends were sensitive: They knew that Job needed their presence more than he needed their advice, so they sat with him for seven days and nights!
None of us should expect to have all of the right words — or words at all — in such times; but all of us can choose to be faithfully present; sympathetic; and sensitive to those who are suffering. Don’t allow words to get in the way. – Luther
