Job 16:5-6 But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should assuage your grief. Though I speak, my grief is not assuaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased?
Job calls his friends “miserable comforters,” They were supposed to be comforting him in his grief. Instead, they condemned him for causing his own suffering. If the shoe were on the other foot, Job would strengthen them and assuage their grief. But their response to his grief is just the opposite of comfort. But he, whether he speaks or is silent, is not assuaged or eased.
Job gives hints about being a better comforter: 1) don’t just talk for the sake of talking, 2) don’t sermonize by giving pat answers, 3) don’t accuse or criticize, 4) put yourself in the other person’s place, and 5) offer help and encouragement.
Our response to the suffering of others, and our own suffering, can strengthen and assuage with the Gospel. We need the assurance of the mercies of God (the blood of Jesus) through the comfort of the Gospel. Encouragement and strengthening comes through the reassurance that God still loves us because of Christ.
Speaking the gospel, not the law, gives comforting hope and assuages grief. We need to hear and speak the words of God’s love as often as possible. God shows His love and sympathy for us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.