I once read the story of a preacher who walked with his wife through cancer. They stood by each other’s side through treatment and the bad news. He held onto her through the final weeks of her life until she faded into the glory of her heavenly father.

He took a few weeks off from his usual preaching schedule to grieve and set his affairs in order. Finally, he returned to the pulpit to restart after this challenging year.

He stood up the first Sunday back and thanked people for their prayers and support. Then he notified them about a change in plan from his regular sermon schedule. Instead of the originally planned series, he would take a few weeks and talk about pain and suffering. Then he said something like this, “I have always had these sermons in my mind, but NOW you will listen to me.”

I often think that everyone who follows Jesus has a sermon of their own. There is this message that God gave to us through his word and our life experiences. Everyone has walked down a path that has taught them about faith in a particular situation. And the lessons we learned on that journey are worth sharing. Someone else out there needs to hear how faith maintained us because they are struggling on that same road.

God has given you a sermon to share with people, and because of your experience, people will listen to every word you say now.