Unqualified For This

I sat and stared at a blank Word document. I thought to myself, “what if I am not qualified to share my words with the world?” “What if there is someone else out there who is more skilled in writing?” I wondered. Doubts began to creep into my head as I watched the blinking cursor, the ever-present reminder that time was ticking away. I had a few choices: abandon my calling out of fear, muster up my own strength, or submit my feelings of inadequacy to God. Maybe you’ve been in a similar boat. In relationships, work, ministry, daily life, we may not feel qualified for the calling God has put on our life.

Here are three reasons you can step out even when you don’t feel qualified:

1.     Your calling is not based on your confidence in the assignment.

In our lives, it is normal to do and try things that you think you will be good at. No one signs up to try something new if they think they will fail. When you know your strengths and weaknesses, you are likely to align your life with things that utilize your strengths. It is human nature to fear the unknown and uncharted territories in our lives. When I first started wrestling with the desire to lead a lifegroup, I did not step fully into the assignment because I thought I would fail. I remember telling the lifegroup minister I would take a season to see what lifegroup was like before committing to lead one. He looked me in the eyes and said, “Yes, by your own strength, you will fail. If you keep your eyes all-sufficient power of God, He will equip you for the calling He has on your life.” Using the passage in Matthew 14: 22-33, he showed me how Peter was able to walk on the water with Jesus until the moment he started to doubt God’s presence:

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out,

“Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him.

“You of little faith,” He said,

“Why did you doubt?”

The moment Peter looked at the strength of the wind and away from the strength of Jesus, he began to sink. Minister Henry T. Blackaby said, “The reality is that the Lord never calls the qualified; He qualifies the called.” As we relinquish the need to be confident in our calling, we release control to the God who qualifies the called.

2.     God will humble us deeply in order to use us greatly.

In our life, we are either walking in pride or in humility. When we walk in humility and have a proper view of ourselves in relation to God, we experience peace. James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Almost the very moment we think we’ve got it all figured out, God will humble us to show us that we need Him. Consider the pattern of King Nebuchadnezzar: feel pride, experience consequence, repent to God, repeat. In Daniel 4, King Nebuchadnezzar is having a dream about a tree, which was a prophecy of upcoming pride, consequence, and repentance. Despite Daniel’s interpretation of the dream, Nebuchadnezzar did not repent of his pride. How often do we have to be brought to a place of humility and repentance, despite warning from the Word and fellow believers? How thankful we should be for God’s continual patience and the pursuit of us, in spite of our pride!

3.     Your calling shows how great God is.

God is in the business of not doing things the way the world expects Him to. Rather than looking for the strongest, most eloquent, wise beings to spread His message, He chooses to use the weak and feeble first. This is not to say that God does not use the educated or charismatic people to spread His message. However, I think that wherever God can choose a weak person to glorify His name, He is found to be strong. God does not follow the ways of the world. In fact, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 ESV says,

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;

God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

God chose what is low and despised in the world,

Even things that are not,

To bring to nothing things that are,

So that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

I’m finding God uses those uncomfortable areas (we might even call them weaknesses) to call us out of reliance on ourselves. If we were already qualified, we would get the glory; if in Him we are qualified, the Lord gets the glory.

Whether you are currently at a place of feeling unqualified or have ever felt this way, don’t lose hope. The God who calls us to something that seems impossible will equip us to follow His calling. As we become humble before the Lord, He will be the strength that we need. We need only to keep our eyes upon God, the One who empowers those He calls.