There was nothing anyone could do; there were no words of comfort that could ease the pain of his broken heart. He sat there surrounded by those he thought were friends, but there was no relief from the pain. Of course, he really hadn't expected his friends to offer any pearls of wisdom that would ease his pain. It was enough they saw his pain and could pray for him. But he never imagined there words of comfort would be words of accusations.
“You've done something to cause this. You need to repent. … This is your own fault; there must be something in your life that is not Godly. … God is punishing you for something.” … Not very comforting words, are they? Job expected comfort from his friends. Instead, he had accusations hurled at him. His so-called 'friends' blamed him for the death of his children, the loss of his property and his health on some unknown, secret sin. Job, of course, knew he had done nothing wrong to cause such calamity. Yet, it was his friends that poured salt into his wounded heart, because they thought they alone had the wisdom of God. Instead of comfort, they only enraged Job. “You are miserable comforters, all of you! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing? I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you. But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.” (Job 16:2-5)
Job's 'friends' thought that because Job's prosperity was lost, God was against him because of some kind of sin. They secretly congratulated themselves that they were still prosperous. Instead of empathizing with Job, truly seeking to be a friend, they kept tearing down Job with their words. They probably thought their advice was sound, “Repent and you'll be fine.”
So very often we think we know what is best for someone else when we actually have no idea of the pain they are in. Just because God prospers us and keeps us safe does not mean we have 'special favor' with him. Job's friends thought material possessions was a sign they were doing everything correctly … and thought Job must have done something terribly wrong. It was in this incorrect line of thinking that they attempted to 'comfort' Job.
We do the same thing sometimes; we try to comfort a friend in need by offering advice, or what action we would take in the same situation. Instead of comforting in spirit and praying for our friend, we just keep things 'stirred-up'. Sometimes we need to be the friend of Proverbs 17:17. “A friend loves at all times.” Sometimes the best friends are the ones who offer solace in the silence of their presence.