Hey you. Yes, you. The one going through life with your head down. The shy one. The one bedridden. The one whose chronic illness has left you stranded within four walls, unconnected to the outside world. The lonely one. And most of all — the hurting one.

Perhaps right now you feel insignificant. Unable. Without much influence on anyone. But I want you to know that while I don’t know what you’re going through right now — your pain, whatever it is — is a microphone.

You may feel like a drop in the sea of humanity, but you have incredible power in you. Recently, I’ve been reading the book Through The Eyes of a Lion by Pastor Levi Lusko about grieving the unexpected loss of his four-year-old daughter. It’s one of those books that I’m so glad to have in paperback. Why? Because almost every page is notated and underlined and circled. (I know, the horror . . . forgive me, that’s just how I love books. You love them by keeping them pristine. I love them by crying on them and writing on them and spilling tea on them.)

God has a purpose for your pain. For my pain. And it’s a glorious, beautiful, precious, powerful purpose.

My mom and I were recently visiting a friend, and she was sharing with us some of the things that she’d learned through her own trials. She is the mom of a young girl with special needs, and she told the story of how she’d been able to encourage another special needs mom — but only because she was one herself. And I’ve had many similar experiences. I am regularly awed (and intimidated) to receive texts and emails and DMs and comments from so many people going through so many trials. But because I’ve suffered, they come to me. Even when it’s about issues I have no personal experience with. Even when it’s someone who is way older than me.

But because I’ve suffered, I have the right and authority to speak God’s truth in a way that I never would have had otherwise. Because I have suffered, people listen. And you know what? I think it’s the same for you, whether you realize it or not. God has given you a platform through your pain. Because you are in pain, people are watching. Even when you think no one sees your silent suffering. Believe me — people are. And way more than we realize.

In her book Amazing Love, Corrie Ten Boom tells of her experiences in a refugee camp and speaking about her painful past as a Nazi concentration camp survivor. She says, “The fact that I had also suffered aroused their interest, and I was entitled to speak because I could understand them.”

Our pain gives us a microphone that people can’t ignore. We cannot be accused of being naive. We cannot be accused as weak. We cannot be brushed off since it is undeniable that we have something real. We are entitled to speak because of our experiences.

Pain brushes aside all the easy counterattacks since we aren’t just speaking theory; we’re speaking from experience. Elsewhere in her book, Corrie says, “We shall have the right to speak because we can tell from our experience that His light is more powerful than the deepest darkness.” Because we have been through the darkness, we have the credibility to speak of the light in a powerful way. Pain slices through age differences and makes us relatable. Pain is a microphone. I know it sucks, trust me. But if you let Him, God can change that pain into incredible power — and He will do great things through you.