Before the Words

1 Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them. Ecclesiastes 4:1

When I started in ministry, I believed my job was always to have the right words. In hospital rooms and funeral homes, I thought my role was to share the right verse or find the exact phrase to make someone feel better.

In verse one, the Teacher doesn't explain the tears or turn them into a quick lesson. He points out that they have no one to comfort them. He repeats that phrase word for word so its weight lands before he moves on.

I used to spend those quiet moments searching my mind for something to say. The moments that mattered were when I stopped talking and sat in a folding chair for three hours while someone cried.

Jesus understood this posture. Standing outside Lazarus’s tomb, he wept. He didn't skip over the grief in front of him just because he had the solution.

I can't bring anyone back, and I don't need to hurry people through their pain to be helpful. I don't have to rescue the room.

There is already a Savior there.

Father, help me see tears before I try to explain them. Give me words when they are needed, and wisdom to stay quiet when they are not.