The One Question We All Ask

Over the last few years, I've had the privilege of speaking on podcasts that were devoted to pastors of small churches. They've been wonderful times of great encouragement. I found out later, the most asked question from a pastor in a small church is often, “What happened to me? Why am I here? I was told that I had gifts and abilities. That I had something great to offer. I had dreams and visions of what that was going to look like. And now I'm here, in…East Sheboygan Falls. I didn't see this coming. God did I do something wrong? Is there something uniquely wrong with me or have You not taken care of me the way You've taken care of others?”

And obviously, this is a question that's not just for pastors of small churches, but for all of us at some time in our lives. Many of us ask that question. We all thought it was going to be something more than this. And so I want to take two sessions if you'd allow me, to just talk about this and to answer that question… “Why am I in East Sheboygan Falls?!”

Let’s look at the things we wonder about, the questions we ask God. Did I do something wrong? Are You disgusted or disappointed with me? Are You convinced You can't use me? Are You not enough, God, or are there people that You like more than me?

And so let's answer some of these questions, because here's the problem: the people that you're ministering to will feel it if you carry the shame of believing something's uniquely wrong with you. Or if you give them the sense that this is not where you really want to be, they will feel unloved and unvalued and it will perpetuate a culture that's not an environment of grace or a place where they get to grow. So first of all, let's get this clear:

God loves you as much as any other person on this planet.

He's not trying to teach you some big lesson. He's not punishing you. He's not disgusted with you. This is not because of something you did in the seventh grade. If He wants to move you, He knows where to find you and He has made no mistakes regarding you. Once I can believe that and know that if He wants to, He can at any time move me to something else, then I get the privilege of being in the moment. I get the privilege of being here, knowing this was intentional. This was not a fallback position. That's such a gift for me to know that there isn't something greater I’m missing out on or some people that He likes more, or that they get to take part in the things that are most important. It's really important to know that, with the exception of sin that's harming you, God has you exactly where He wants you — location, vocation, and timing.

He has you exactly where He wants you, or He would move you from there.

Once you get that, you get to live in the moment, you get to be the light and look excitedly around every corner, and love every person who crosses your path. Next time, I want to spend a moment on the gift and blessing that you are exactly where you are. What a delight!