The Gentle Power Of Showing Up: Why Presence Often Speaks Louder Than Words

Discover how your quiet, faithful presence can bring comfort, connection, and healing. Because showing up often speaks louder than words.

My husband has always been the one who shows up.

It takes a lot — I mean a lot — to keep him home from something he’s committed to. He’ll be there at work unless he’s really sick. He’ll be there for every church event — the chili cook-offs, the Bible studies, the small groups, and the late-night tear-downs when most people have already gone home.

He’s steady. Dependable. Faithful.

And people notice.

That familiarity — his simple, quiet presence — means they know he can be counted on. And watching the way his consistent presence has strengthened relationships over the years has made me want to be more intentional about showing up, too.

It’s reminded me that sometimes faithfulness looks less like saying the perfect thing and more like simply being there.

When You Want to Fix It (But Can’t)

Sometimes I unconsciously believe that my value is in the fixing.

If I can just say the right thing, find the right verse, offer the perfect piece of advice…maybe I can make someone’s pain go away.

But I’ve lived long enough to know that not everything can be fixed.

The heartache of losing someone too soon.
The uncertainty of waiting for a court ruling.
The pain of divorce that ripples through an entire family.
The diagnosis that doesn’t have a cure.

And sometimes, that awareness can make us freeze. We stay silent or stay away, afraid we’ll say the wrong thing.

But what I’ve learned is that presence, not perfection, is what people remember most.

Presence Over Perfection

There is power in presence.

Presence doesn’t rush in with answers. It doesn’t fill silence or smooth over pain. It sits beside the sorrow and simply stays.

That’s what Job’s friends got right in the beginning of his story. Before they said a word, they sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, just being with him in his pain (Job 2:11–13).

It’s what Jesus modeled with Mary and Martha in John 11. When Lazarus died, Jesus didn’t start with theology. He started with tears. “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35).

And it’s what Paul calls us to in Romans 12:15:

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

There’s something deeply sacred about showing up in someone’s grief, not to fix, but to feel with them — to reflect God’s steady love by simply being there.

What Showing Up Can Look Like

It can be hard on a person to watch a loved one struggle. It can feel heavy to bear a burden with them, to continue to hear about the same pain, the same unanswered prayers, the same ache with no end in sight.

And it can feel just as discouraging to keep showing up when it doesn’t seem to make a difference.

But I want you to know — it does.

Presence is powerful. It’s easy to underestimate how much your consistency matters, how deeply it can speak to someone who feels unseen or forgotten.

You may not be able to fix their situation, but you can remind them they don’t have to face it alone.

Presence matters.
And it speaks volumes.

Showing up doesn’t always look like grand gestures. It looks like love, expressed in ordinary, everyday ways.

Here are some simple ways you can show up for someone:

• Sending a handwritten card or note
• Dropping off a meal or a loaf of bread
• Bringing flowers, coffee, or a bundt cake
• Sending a text to say, “You’ve been on my heart. I prayed for you this morning.”
• Sharing a verse that comforted you
• Planning a walk, coffee date, or movie night
• Seeing their kids’ games, plays, or events with them
• Helping them with some task they are working on (teacher appreciation gifts, laundry, wrapping birthday presents)
• Sitting quietly beside them in the hospital or waiting room
• Offering to babysit so they can rest
• Sending a funny meme that makes you both laugh through the tears

Presence can look like laughter, prayer, silence, or just showing up with arms ready to hug and ears ready to listen.

Of course, showing up doesn’t mean carrying every burden or fixing every problem. You can’t be everything to everyone — and that’s okay. Healthy boundaries don’t lessen your care; they help you love more sustainably.

Even when it doesn’t feel like enough, it makes such an important impact.

The Gentle Power of Showing Up

Showing up doesn’t mean fixing every problem or having all the right words.

It means being a living reflection of our Emmanuel — God with us — and our El Roi, the God who sees.

It’s saying with your presence, I see you. You’re not alone in this.

Whether it’s through prayer, laughter, silence, or sitting on the floor beside someone in tears, showing up is one of the most Christlike things we can do.

And maybe, when you show up, you’ll be changed, too — learning to listen, love, and notice in deeper ways than before (that’s absolutely what’s happened for me).

When It Feels Like No One Is Showing Up For You

And still, even with all this in mind, there are seasons when we’re the ones left waiting — the ones longing for someone to show up for us.

If you’re in a season of struggle and it feels like no one is showing up for you, I am so sorry.

I’ve walked through lonely seasons, too, especially through chronic illness. After the tenth “How are you?” with the same “Not great” answer, the questions fade. People stop asking, even though the struggle hasn’t stopped.

And that silence can ache.

Even when we know God is near, our hearts still crave human connection, presence, and care. That longing isn’t weakness; it’s part of how He designed us.

If that’s where you are right now, I pray that God would meet that ache — through His presence and through the hands and hearts of others who will come alongside you.

A Blessing for You

May you remember today that your presence is powerful,
even when your words feel small.

May you have eyes to see the ones God is placing on your heart —
and the courage to show up, just as you are.

May your presence reflect the steady love of Christ,
who sits beside the brokenhearted and never walks away.

And if you’re the one who feels unseen, may you sense the nearness of the God who always shows up for you — faithfully, steadily, lovingly, every single time.

Amen.