"God Works His Plan In Our Lives"

May 28, 2026 | By Chuck

 Just this week I was cleaning out a file cabinet in my office and found a cassette tape dated July 30, 1995, with my name and “Forgiveness” written on it.  That was the first sermon I ever preached.  I also found an old cassette recorder in the same cabinet, so I listened to a few minutes of that lesson.  A few minutes was all I could handle.  Bless your sweet hearts for listening to me for 16 years! I’m not sure how you do it each week.  You are all obviously good Christian people! 
              It was a Sunday night at Sandstone Drive Church of Christ in Little Rock and I had never preached before.  Kristy and I were newlyweds at the time and had no idea what the next 31 years would bring.  That Sunday afternoon leading up to evening worship seemed to go on forever.  I studied that sermon over and over and I prayed that God would help me get through it.  I thought this would be my first and last sermon, just filling in for the preacher as he was away.  I wasn’t just nervous… I was terrified, scared to death as I stepped up to the pulpit.  What was I thinking, agreeing to such an assignment?
              I wore a suit and tie (I know you’re shocked) and I preached for about 30 minutes on one of the few topics I knew anything about: forgiveness.  It’s still a favorite topic of mine.  I didn’t know or understand what was going on behind the scenes that night.  Not with the elders, deacons, or the congregation.  I didn’t understand what God was doing and how His Holy Spirit would work in my heart.  I don’t remember much about that sermon and I certainly will not listen to it, but I remember relaxing during the lesson, feeling at home, and experiencing the most overwhelming feeling of joy as I finished preaching that night. 
              I had no idea what was happening in my heart back then, but 31 years and thousands of sermons later, I can’t help but smile as I can see how God had a plan.  I can’t listen to that old sermon from 1995 and I sure wouldn’t allow you to either, but I can tell you this... I love preaching more today than ever before.  There is something special about looking back and seeing how God has worked in your life.  God has a plan for each of us, and He and His Holy Spirit work in our lives.  May each of us be God’s vessels and willingly allow Him to work His plan in our lives. 
              “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Eph. 3:14-16).