It can be tough...

being a pastor some days. No, this is not a "boo hoo" poor me kind of thing. It can be tough when you are having a discussion with someone and you raise a clear point from the Word of God and they want nothing to do with it. I mean, all you can do is show them the Scriptures. And if they want nothing to do with it, if they reject the Word of God, well you have done all you can right?

But it never ends there. You know you are a poor miserable sinner. You begin to question yourself. Did I somehow get in the way? Did I present the Word of God in such a manner as to have caused the rejection? Maybe if I had just nuanced it this way. Maybe if I had said this or had not said that.

But then you chasten yourself for thinking that you can do anything and it is not the Word of God. You begin to think: "You dumby, it is not your eloquence that accomplishes anything it is Jesus working through His Word!"

A vicious cycle sets in. The doubt still lingers... what did I do that I should not have and what could I have done that I didn't?

Lord, have mercy.