Healing With the Word

May 28, 2025  

Healing With the Word

by Ethan Brisby

This morning, I returned once again to the seventh chapter of Mark. I’m continually drawn to the pattern in Yeshua’s life: after healing someone, He often told them, “Tell no one.” And yet, time and again, they told someone anyway. I find this revealing.

Why would He say that? I believe it has everything to do with the power of the word.

Time after time, Yeshua healed with a word. The spoken word. This affirms what Proverbs tells us: Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Could it be that even the act of retelling the miracle diluted its potency? Could broadcasting the sacred somehow diminish its mystery?

That led me into Chapter 8 of The Psychology of Money, which explores the idea of control. According to the book, happiness can often be reduced to this: The ability to do what I want, when I want, with whom I want, for as long as I want. That, indeed, is liberation. I remember being 23 years old, walking away from corporate America in pursuit of knowledge. Now at 42, I feel peace. I feel free. And more than anything, I feel the blessing of choice.

John D. Rockefeller was cited in the book as a man of few words. He is remembered for saying something to the effect of: “The more I see, the more I listen. The more I listen, the more I know.” That wisdom resonates deeply when I think of how the Messiah used His words to heal, and then instructed silence. We now live in a world where oversharing is rewarded. But I see this as a trick of the system, and a way to disseminate our power. There is as much strength in silence as there is in speech.

This has challenged how I engage with social media. Algorithms aside, I am now choosing to control my message. When I speak, it will be life-giving. I will be intentional with what I share and when. I’ve gone back and forth about whether to use my personal name or my brands. Today, I choose again to honor my name as sacred. My brands will carry my message forward. Speaking less becomes easier with a plan. And when I have a plan, I’m less reactive. I won’t be swayed by others; I know my path, and I’m walking it.

Yesterday, I wrote a prose titled “The Voices I Hear in My Head.” Today, I want to honor the life-giving voices.

I remember William Bowser and Alicia White, two early believers in me as a young SHIFT Manager at Pizza Hut. At just 18, I held keys, codes, and payroll. I was entrusted with people twice my age. That memory reminds me: I have long walked in authority.

I remember Ms. Sandy Farris, who let me write freely in the school paper, even as others tried to police the voices of young Black boys. She let me wear my hair wild, unbound by convention. She affirmed my right to be me. That planted early seeds of sovereignty.

I hear the voices of Thomas and Bukky, two of my first real estate clients. They didn’t just hire me. They entrusted me with homes, budgets, and full renovation authority. They believed in me when I was still learning. That belief became fuel for my growth.

Louder than all, I hear the voice of my mother. She has always spoken power into me. Words like “chosen,” “king,” “precious.” Words that still echo through my soul today. My maternal grandparents reinforced that same love and strength. I was always everyone’s favorite. That deep familial affection made me believe in the goodness of people, because I know I would never harm another intentionally.

At 42, my Jackie Robinson year, I declare that all barriers must fall. Today I knock down the barrier of self-doubt that whisper that arises when it’s time to take my rightful place. I silence the voices that attempt to reduce me to conformity. I honor those who saw me then and see me now.

There is order in this world, but there must also be those of us who go within and bring back power. That is my assignment. And today, I choose to heal with the word.

Ethan Brisby