Words Have Power

The beloved comedian Robin Williams said, “No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” He was so right! Words have power. They can destroy and they can create. Words have the energy and the power to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble. They can inspire a person to great achievements.

In his great song “You Raise Me Up,” Josh Groban wrote,

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary
When troubles come and my heart burdened be
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until you come and sit awhile with me

You raise me up, so I constant on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up …to more than I can be

Those are some of the most inspiring words of a song I have ever heard. And the image of someone sitting beside us, giving us words of encouragement is enough to inspire us to kindle the flame of hope inside us again. Albert Schweitzer once wrote, “In
everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”

The times we are living in are challenging in astounding and sometimes shocking ways. They can tempt us to give in to despair. But now is when we can use one of greatest powers: our words. We can rekindle the fire for each other, often with a silent hug, but even more powerfully with word of love, and faith and hope.