Have you ever felt the crushing weight of a problem so heavy that words felt like an insult? We’ve all been there—standing beside a friend in a hospital room or a funeral home, desperately searching our minds for the ‘perfect’ verse to fix their pain. But I have a secret to share with you: sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is keep your mouth shut.
In this video, my friend Steve Fischer and I talk about the beauty of having ‘no words.’ Steve shares a story about a friend who lost three sons; the people who talked and prayed and quoted poems made him want to scream, but the ones who just sat with him were the ones he never wanted to leave. My friend, presence is a statement of compassion that a sermon can never match. If you’re a pastor, a parent, or a friend trying to ‘fix’ someone, I want to invite you to let go of that burden. Let’s learn together how to be comfortable in the uncomfortable silence, trusting that the Holy Spirit is the one who does the real work of healing.
