Have you ever asked God that question, why me? I know that I have and the answer isn't always obvious. We should be embarrassed to ask, when you consider those who came before us.

The Apostle Paul stands out, you can't help but to notice all he had been through! Paul wrote letters from prison. Some of these letters are part of our Bible, they are considered the WORD of God. Imagine this man of God and all he went through to serve the living God. Yet Paul considered his weakness to be his strength. Paul understood what it meant to be completely dependent on God.

In no way can my hardships be likened to The Apostle Paul. Yet in the time of trial, I have asked the question, why me God? I have also seen others go through very difficult trials and I have asked why? Several years ago I painfully watched a ministry fall! Why would God want a ministry to fall, a local church come apart at the seams? Why would God want this hard working and sincere Pastor to struggle and finally lose his flock?

The answers to such difficult questions, are not always ours to understand. God is in control and He decides what stands and falls, and He does it all on His time table. This particular flock went in many directions. In looking back, I can only say that I learned so very much from this heart ache. Since than I have noticed other ministries struggle. I have seen those who do not appear to be in harmony with Biblical doctrine, rise and grow. They give the appearance of a healthy ministry, but they lack the integrity to stand for truth.

At the present time, I am watching, what seems to be the destruction of something that I never imagined could fall. On the surface, it would seem that God is allowing the enemy to cause another flock to scatter! But I am reminded of the persecution of the Church in Jerusalem. How James wrote letters to his flock, whom were forced to leave town, because the enemy was on the attack. I am reminded of how this flock went to other lands and shared the Gospel, they were forced to become missionaries to foreign lands.

The Pastor of that very flock that I saw scatter years ago, today he is tending another flock, in a far away land. So I guess my point here is very simple, God is concerned about lost souls! God needs workers in the field! God is willing to send us, when we are not able to see where He wants us to go. The flock, the true flock always has a Shepherd, no matter where they are!

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep." John 10:14,15