When We Have No Words

Psalm 119:129-136 Romans 8:26-39 – basis of sermon Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

There are moments in life when words simply fail us. I recall the first time I drove into Orwigsburg, from Route 61 and traveling down Market Street. I crested the hill and what this Chicago native saw took my breath away. Mountains, hills, farmland, my new home.
Sometimes the words won’t come because we are overwhelmed with joy. A grandparent holds a newborn grandchild for the first time. Our child gets accepted to college. But more often, words fail us because life has become too heavy. A difficult diagnosis. The death of someone we love. Worries that keep us awake at night. We pray, but all we can manage is a sigh, a tear, or silence.
If you’ve ever been there, then you already know the truth of Paul’s words. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought.” Paul doesn’t say if we are weak. He says the Spirit helps us in our weakness. Weakness is simply part of being human. Even the strongest believer has days when faith feels fragile.
Sometimes we imagine that faithful believers always know exactly how to pray. Paul says otherwise. When our words run out, the Holy Spirit begins. Paul says the Spirit intercedes for us with “groanings too deep for words.” God hears what we cannot express.
Sometimes all we can do is sit in our chair and cry. Unable to pray, we might feel guilty. Let me say this. “Perhaps those tears are your prayer.” Our relationship with God does not depend on eloquent language
There are days when we feel close to God and days when we do not. There are days when prayer flows easily and days when heaven seems silent. Thankfully, God’s love is not measured by our feelings. God’s love is measured by the life that Jesus led and the sacrifice he made.
That is where Paul takes us next. “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God.” Paul is not saying that everything that happens is good. Serious illness is not good. Violence is not good. Wars are not good. Grief is not good. God never calls evil good. Paul says that God is able to work through every circumstance—even the painful ones—to accomplish God’s good purposes. That is an important difference.
What happened on Good Friday is the greatest example. There was nothing good about the betrayal, injustice, torture, and crucifixion that took place. Yet God transformed the darkest day in history into the salvation of the world. God can also bring hope into our lives, even when we cannot yet see how.
Then Paul reaches the high point of this inspiring chapter. “If God is for us, who is against us?” That is not a question that pretends there is no opponent or adversity. It is a question that puts opposition in its place. God is for us. He has already shown it. He did not spare his own Son. We look at Jesus. We look at the love he showed us by suffering and giving up his life. There we see love that stays with us forever.
Then Paul asks another question. “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” And the answer comes back with an awesome quiet power. Nothing.
Not the hard days. Not the long nights. Not the pain we can name. Not the pain we cannot. Not the future. Not even the grave. Nothing can break that love.
Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not your past. Not your doubts. Not your weakness. Not your sorrow. Not death. Not life. Nothing. That promise supported the church back then. It supports the church now. It will support you.
So trust that love. When the day is sunny. When the night seems endless. When you feel strong. When you feel empty. Keep walking in that love, because the God who gave his Son for you will never let you go. Thanks be to God. Amen.