2 1/2 years ago–the night before I was set to depart my long-time home of Oklahoma City and migrate west to the dry and dusty land known as West Texas to start the next chapter in life by tackling a new pastorate–a former pastor came to my house to pray with me and offer some words of counsel. The first words out of his mouth were, “Are you ready?”
Even knowing beyond any shadow of doubt that God had called me to go to Lubbock, Texas, my immediate and forthright response was, “No, not really.” Down deep I knew that I was not adequate to the task at hand, and I had admitted it freely, both to him and to God.
Maybe you can relate. Perhaps, as you face new opportunities, challenges or new open doors of ministry before you, your heart is saturated with feelings of inadequacy. You might be telling yourself, “I can’t do it! The task is too big. I’m not qualified.” Then, welcome to the club, friend. You have joined a unique society with hundreds of thousands of members.
To be honest, though, you should probably feel concerned if you don’t harbor those feelings. Why? Simple. God’s power is demonstrated so much more fully in our weakness and humility. This is why He prefers to use nobodies instead of somebodies. This is why Paul wrote, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) God-dependence–instead of self-reliance–is a quality that God fosters in our lives in order to make His glory more fully known. God’s job is to receive glory. It’s our job to give it to Him, and the best way to do that is to let Him “show up and show off” in our lives.
Still, as I am now facing new ministry opportunities in my own life–some of them very intimidating, even Goliath-like in nature–I find myself reverting back to the old thoughts. “I can’t do it, God. I’m not strong enough. I’m not qualified. I could probably use more experience…Blah, Blah, Blah!” You know what? It’s all true. But, what’s more shocking is the fact that this is exactly the way God wants me, especially with regard to my future in ministry.
In his book, The Master’s Plan For The Church, pastor and author John MacArthur once wrote,
“Humanly speaking, no one is fit for the task of ministry. The Lord knows that. The same Lord who gave us high standards knows we can never meet them on our own. Yet when we yield to the Spirit of God and depend on Him for what we can never accomplish on our own, His power will work through us.”
Whew! That’s reassuring. Even more assuring to me is that I’m in good company. The Apostle Paul–who, apart from the Savior, was the greatest evangelist who ever lived–felt just like I do. Listen to what he wrote to the believers at Corinth:
“When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).
The late Stephen Olford, author of The Christian Message For Contemporary Life, described Paul’s thinking this way, saying that in effect, “temperament, background and training are not what matters. The power of the Holy Spirit is needed to be a communicator for Christ.”
I would heartily concur with Olford. The key phrase in that passage is found in verse four, where Paul speaks of “a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.” Paul also wrote in Ephesians 3:20 that God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” I don’t know about you, but I can imagine quite a bit! But, as grandiose as our dreams for Kingdom ministry might be, the ability of the Holy Spirit to use us is so far above what our feeble minds can conceive that it can’t even be measured! With that in mind, I advise you to fasten your seat belt and hold on tight!
Let me offer you a very candid word of warning, though. As you begin to wrap your brain around the idea that God can do anything through you, the enemy will begin to try to counter-program what God is teaching you–especially as you look into the daunting face of new challenges ahead. The enemy will try to fill your head with all sorts of nonsense, not the least of which are feelings of fear–fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of the future, even a fear of doing God’s will. Don’t let him! Remember what Paul wrote to his young, timid pastoral protege, Timothy: “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Okay, so maybe you’re not fearful. Maybe you don’t doubt God’s ability to use people at all. Maybe you’re just doubting that God would want to use you. “I’m nothing out of the ordinary, God. Why would you want to use someone like me?”
Well, hey, guess what? It is your “ordinariness” (yes, that’s a real word, believe it or not) that God finds appealing. Think of all the common people you find in the Bible that God chose to work through: Rahab, a harlot; Gideon, a whimpering nobody; Peter, a fisherman. Mighty things were accomplished through common folk that you and I wouldn’t consider to be particularly special. And, it was all because God rejoices in commonness. I love what Max Lucado wrote in his best-seller, The Applause Of Heaven: “God dances amidst the common.”
In addition to common people, think of the simple, common tools God used to do the miraculous. The rock David placed in his sling would slay a giant. The stick Moses once used to guide animals became a powerful instrument God would use to help guide His people out of Egyptian bondage. Jesus rubbed saliva and mud into the eyes of a blind man in order to heal him. Lucado also wrote, “Deliriously joyful are the ones who will believe that if God used sticks, rocks, and spit to do His will, then He can use us.”
Friend, it really doesn’t matter who you are. I really doesn’t matter what you’re capable of. What’s important is who God is and what He desires to do through you. You may feel incapable, but He is more than capable.
Not only was I not adequate to the task God placed before me 2 1/2 years ago, I’m still not adequate for the task set before me today. But, I’m okay with that. I get it. It’s not about me. It’s about Him, so I’m trusting God to accomplish His purposes through me for His glory and for the sake of His kingdom. Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
So, what about you, my friend? Are you ready to stop worrying about ability and start practicing availability? Then report for duty, now. God’s got something special that He wants to do through you. He wants to show up and show off in your life.
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