Preaching is hard work. Perhaps it’s a unique kind of hard work. The emotional, spiritual, mental and physical expenditure can be significant. The time put in preparing and praying adds up. Some listeners may not realize it, but most preachers can have no doubt that preaching is very hard work.

It makes sense that it should be hard work. Just consider all that is at stake in the lives and eternities of the lost, and the lives of believers who live in a complex jungle of sin, relationships, spiritual attack and so on. Yet pondering the realities of what needs to take place in the preaching event could cause us to despair. We’ve worked hard, brought to bear every skill we’ve been blessed to acquire, given all we have and then we start to wonder – is it enough? Am I capable? Can I make any difference at all, let alone the difference I’ve prayed for and I believe God desires? The answer has to be . . . no.

We pray, we prepare, we preach, we pour out our all. But the fruit of preaching is too much for our abilities and skills to produce. So we quit? No. We preach the Word. We preach with a quiet confidence, with a subtle refrain ringing in our hearts – It’s a good thing it’s a God thing!