“Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” (Job 7:11)
“Though I speak, my grief is not assuaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased?” (Job 16:6)
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Job couldn’t shut up. He was too full of pain. But he had to learn the hard way that sometimes talking about things to others doesn’t make us feel any better, especially when they don’t have much sympathy or offer us faulty advice.
We can be between a rock and a hard place. Neither letting it out or holding it in is a good option. What Job came to realize is that He did need an audience for his complaint; but that audience was not on the earth. Only God could comfort him. And so He waited for his day to be heard. But what happened when he finally came before God? He didn’t have much, if anything to say. He let God do the talking.
God wants to hear our voice. He lets us vent. Better we do so before Him than anyone else. But what we really need even more is to hear His voice. His voice calms the storm in our heart. In His light we see the light we need to see.
Come before Him. Be more ready to hear than to speak. He knows how to decompress our over-full hearts, sending us back into the world of men. After hearing from God, Job had less to say to his friends.