“They sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights; no one spoke a word, because they saw how great the suffering had become.” – Job 2:13
Look at what that says. “No one spoke a word for seven days and seven nights.” I cannot imagine that. The urge to comfort is often the urge to speak. Not having something to say feels like a failure. But Job’s friends knew that speaking in this instance would be the failure. This is their best moment.
I’m urged toward a more responsive way of being in relationship when I think about the generosity of time and presence that it took to give Job those days and nights of silence.
This message is excerpted from “The unexpected gift of silence” by Anna Grunner in the July/August 2015 Gather magazine.
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