Earlier this week, I met with my small group. Groups kicked off this week, and if you’re not in one yet, there’s still time to find one that works for you.
One of the questions we wrestled with was a simple one: Why? Not what. What is usually pretty easy. What do I want? What am I hoping for? What would I like to change about my life? But why is harder.
What struck me was how quickly we could answer the “what” questions. But when we started asking why, the conversation slowed down. There were longer pauses.
Why do I want that? Why does it matter so much to me? What am I hoping it will change—or prove? And if I actually got what I wanted, would it give me what I thought it would?
Sometimes the honest answer is buried underneath a few other answers—security, approval, comparison, fear, the desire to prove something. Getting to the real “why” takes a little work.
This past Sunday we kicked off a new sermon series called Living the Dream, where we looked at Joseph’s dreams—and the “why” underneath them. Joseph had a pretty clear picture of what he wanted his life to become. But as his story unfolds, God begins doing something much bigger than simply helping Joseph get where he wants to go.
And maybe that’s part of what faith looks like for us too. It’s not just asking, “God, will you help me get where I want to go?” It’s being willing to ask deeper questions: Why do I want this? What am I hoping it will give me? And is God trying to do something in me that’s bigger than the dream I started with?
Following Jesus doesn’t mean giving up our dreams. But it does mean holding them loosely enough for God to reshape them—and reshape us along the way. And one of the ways God does that is by turning our attention beyond ourselves.
That’s part of why serving matters so much. When we give our time, energy, and gifts to someone else, it makes a difference for them. But it also does something in us. It changes what we notice. It changes what we value. Sometimes it even changes what we want.
I’ve been thinking about that especially as we continue to see so much growth in gsKids. And when I say growth, I’m not really talking about numbers. I’m talking about actual kids. Kids who need someone to learn their name. Kids who need another adult in their corner. Parents who need to know that when they walk through our doors, there’s a community ready to love their family well.
That growth is something worth celebrating, but it also creates an opportunity for more of us to help create the kinds of spaces where the next generation can know they are loved, known, and invited to follow Jesus.
Sometimes the dream God is inviting us into is bigger than what we originally imagined because it was never only about us.
This Sunday, Joseph’s story takes another turn. Because sooner or later, all of us have moments when where we are looks nothing like where we thought we were going.
And that raises another kind of “why” question: Why this? Why here? Why now? The question then becomes: Can I still trust God when I can’t see how any of this fits together?
I hope you’ll join us Sunday.
Matt
