Ten years later, I’m the lead pastor of that same church where I began as part-time associate pastor. As I’m presented with challenges, I have to ask again and again: “If God has put us here to do his work, isn’t there a way God can provide what we need to do it?”

Strangely enough that lesson which arose from the most unsettling season of my life has seen me through many challenges and remains with me still. That skill which arose from the things that seemed to be obstacles has become the best thing I know. Because as much as I’d like to have all the answers, the best thing I can offer and model for my people is faith in God. Sometimes the most powerful thing I can do is say “I don’t know, but if God is calling us to it, it’s his job to provide for it. And if God doesn’t want it, I don’t want it either.” Every time I lead with that peace, I remember all the crisis moments where God taught me to have that peace. The God who is calling you is the same God in the church, in your family, in the Bible, and in the world. Will you choose to trust God no matter what?

Mandy Smith is lead pastor of University Christian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and author of The Vulnerable Pastor.