How to Help a Friend in Pain - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - February 25, 2026
Daily Hope with Rick Warren
Audio By Carbonatix
By Rick Warren, Crosswalk.com
“Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.” Job 2:13 (NLT)
If you're always in a hurry, then you're never going to be a great listener.
To have great conversations, you can start by investing as much time as needed. Why? Because you can't listen very well when you’re in a hurry. Great listening takes time.
Job was a wealthy man who lost virtually everything, including his money, health, and even his children. “When three of Job’s friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him. . . . Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words” (Job 2:11, 13 NLT).
This is called the ministry of presence. When you’re ministering to someone in pain, you must remember this: The deeper the pain, the fewer words you use. If somebody's having a bad hair day, then you can talk about it for 30 minutes. But if that person has a major crisis, talking about it for a long time is probably not going to help.
A lot of people don’t know how to help someone who is in crisis. They don't know what to say.
Those same people will often stay away from a friend because they’re afraid of saying the wrong thing.
The truth is that you don’t need to say anything. Just show up and shut up. You can’t talk people out of their pain. Some pain is beyond words. When it's the right time, your hurting friend will say something. When it's the right time, then you'll be able to say something too.
This kind of investment takes time. Notice how many days Job's friends sat on the ground with him: seven. Do you have anybody in your life who'd sit on the ground with you for seven days without saying anything? That takes a very mature person and a true friend.
If you want to be that kind of friend, then you have to be willing to sacrifice so that you can give people your love, attention, and presence—as much as they need.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer known for founding Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He has written several best-selling books, including The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 35 million copies in 200 languages. Time magazine named Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since stepping down from the lead pastor role at Saddleback in 2022, Warren has continued to inspire people through his Daily Hope Devotional and podcast Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. His first book in a decade, Created to Dream, was released in April 2023.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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