The Tension Where Truth Lives

The Weight Between Words With Pastor Charles Howse

Let Them Talk

There is an inner voice that knows things before they show up on the outside.

It knows when it’s time to move…
when it’s time to be quiet…
when it’s time to work without announcing it…
and when it’s time to protect the process.

Most of us don’t struggle because we lack desire or discipline. We struggle because we let noise interrupt formation. Opinions. Jokes. Advice. Commentary. Well-meaning questions that come too early. Voices that don’t have to carry the weight of the outcome.

That’s the danger of outer chatter—it speaks before the work is done.

There are seasons when you don’t need affirmation; you need focus. Seasons when explaining yourself costs more energy than the work itself. Seasons when the wisest thing you can do is keep moving quietly until the results speak for you.

The inner life knows this.

It’s the part of you that recognizes where you’re going even when you’re not there yet. It’s the part that can see health before the scale changes… stability before the evidence appears… wholeness before anyone else believes it.

And that inner witness will guide you—if you let it.

It will guide you in your body.
It will guide you in your work.
It will guide you in relationships.
It will push you past what you feel capable of, into what you’re actually becoming.

But only if you protect it.

Not everyone needs access to your process. Some people can only handle outcomes. Others unintentionally create noise that drains momentum before transformation has time to take root.

So let them talk.

Not out of bitterness.
Not out of fear.
But out of wisdom.

You don’t owe commentary while you’re still being formed. You don’t need permission to become healthier, stronger, clearer, or more whole. And you don’t have to convince anyone of where you’re going if you’re committed to doing the work to get there.

The inner life is not loud.
But it is trustworthy.

And if you’ll listen to it—really listen—it will take you places explanation never could.

Thetensionwheretruthlives.org
Pastor Charles E. Howse Jr
Beth-El Baptist Church
@highlight

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Charles Howse Jr
Pastor Charles E. Howse Jr. is a preacher, pastor, and author whose calling lives at the intersection of proclamation and reflection. With decades of ministry experience, he has spent his life speaking to the visible struggles of people while gently naming the quieter battles they carry within. His voice is shaped by Scripture, lived experience, and a deep pastoral concern for those navigating faith, failure, leadership, and the long work of healing. Whether from the pulpit or the page, his work consistently points readers and listeners back to the grace of God that meets us where we truly are. Through writing, Pastor Howse explores the tension where truth lives—the space between certainty and doubt, strength and vulnerability, public faith and private wrestlings. His reflections draw from biblical narratives, personal insight, and pastoral observation, inviting readers to slow down,and think deeply. He writes not to perform, but to bear witness—to grace that restores, love that endures, and a God who remains faithful even when we falter. This blog is an extension of that calling: honest, thoughtful, and rooted in the hope that truth still heals.

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