Bless Your Inadequacy

If you are at all like me (perish the thought), you periodically struggle with feelings of inadequacy. Perhaps you get discouraged when you compare your life, your marriage, your kids, your job, your house, or your wealth with another’s. Pastors, including me, are famous for doing this—a lot; we’re pretty skilled at comparing our ministry with some other high profile ministry that seems to be thriving while we feel like we are barely surviving.

For you, maybe the task or the challenge at hand is nothing less than intimidating in light of your inability, lack of resources, dearth of support and the overwhelming odds involved in accomplishing what you need to do. Perhaps at the moment, you feel like you are up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

If you have ever felt that way, you are not alone. That’s exactly how Gideon felt when the angel of the Lord found him hiding in a winepress and called him to lead Israel to victory over the Midianites, a much larger, better equipped, far superior opponent. Notice this interaction between Gideon and the Lord’s messenger:

“The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, ‘Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!’” (Judges 6:12, NLT)

Remember, this so-called hero is hiding in fear in the bottom of a winepress. You’ve got to love the humor of God here—Gideon is anything but a hero or a mighty warrior. In reality, he is a fraidy cat. But God’s reality is different than ours. The truth is, God saw Giedon, and he sees us, not as we are, but as what we are capable of doing in him.

“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The LORD brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” (Judges 6:13, NLT)

Do you sense any comparison to past victories, any feelings of inadequacy, any intimidation here? Absolutely! Gideon is quite busy looking over his shoulder at what once was, instead of looking forward into what God had ordained.

“Then the LORD turned to him and said, ‘Go with the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!’” (Judges 6:14, NLT)

What a powerful truth! We don’t need to go in anyone else’s strength, nor do we need the miracles or victories of the past. God has knowingly chosen us in our current limitedness and has already given us the strength to accomplish what he has called us to do—right now!

Perhaps you are so busy looking over your shoulder at what once was that you fail to look forward into what God has willed. Even if you do cast an eye toward what is ahead, all you may see are overwhelming challenges that cannot be overcome because of your personal inadequacies. But God’s reality is different than yours. He sees you not as you were, not even as you are, but as what you are capable of in him. Surrender your current reality to God—in defiance of your limitedness, he has given you the strength to accomplish what he has ordained for you—right now!

If you are discouraged in any way by what you are facing, let me encourage you in the same way God encouraged Gideon (and encourages me every time he finds me hiding in my winepress):

Go in the strength you already have and accomplish what God has called you to do. God will enable you to experience victory as you step out in obedience to him!

Yes, God is with you, mighty man, mighty woman of valor. Go in the strength you have!

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” ~C.S. Lewis

Reflect and Apply: Feeling a little inadequate today? Reflect on the following statement: “True courage is not the absence of fear—but the willingness to proceed in spite of it.”