I walked into church that morning feeling unprepared, unsure, and quietly hoping the sermon wouldn’t fall flat. What happened next reminded me—again—that God often works most powerfully when we feel weakest.
A funny thing happened this past weekend.
I was asked to preach a lesson. I usually preach about once every six weeks, and this time I was excited. I wanted it to be good.
I wanted it to matter.
But everything about the weekend felt off.
The women were away at a retreat. A snowstorm hit. Many men and families stayed home and watched online. As I prepared, my thoughts wouldn’t come together.
Some sermons practically preach themselves.
Others feel like you’re assembling the plane while it’s already in the air.
This was one of those.
When Confidence Is Gone
As I walked to church that morning, my confidence was gone.
I felt nervous and unsure, praying quietly, God, please let this help someone. Anyone.
I didn’t feel strong.
I didn’t feel ready.
All I could do was ask God to use my weakness.
When I stood up to preach, the room told the story.
A skeleton crew.
Mostly college students.
About a third of our normal attendance.
It was quiet—so quiet it was hard to tell if anything was landing at all.
I preached.
I finished.
I slipped back into my seat.
And I thought to myself, I hope that sermon didn’t stink too badly.
Then Something Happened
After the final song, a man about my age came straight toward me and wrapped me up in a big bear hug.
I had never met him before.
He thanked me—genuinely, deeply—for the lesson. Then he shared that his son had wandered away from God, and that the message was exactly what he needed.
Not just for his wandering son, but for his other faithful children as well.
Then his wife hugged me.
Long. Tight.
Then their son came up. I had never met him either.
He told me he liked the sermon. He said he had been away from the Kingdom for a long time.
I asked if he’d like to meet that week.
We had coffee on Wednesday.
We opened Mark 1 together.
He said he wants to keep studying—and he’s coming back this Sunday.
I walked away humbled.
When Weakness Becomes the Doorway
Because while I felt weak, unsure, and underprepared, God was quietly at work.
He was using that very weakness to reach exactly the people He intended.
It reminded me of something I have to relearn over and over again:
My feelings are not an accurate gauge of reality.
Feeling ineffective doesn’t mean nothing happened.
Feeling weak doesn’t mean God wasn’t strong.
In fact, it often means the opposite.
Paul’s words came flooding back to me:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
If you’re feeling weak right now, you may be closer to God’s work than you think.
Much Love,
Rob Skinner
