Chip started us off with a reminder about inferiority: it's a lie from Satan that just because we aren't perfect that our faith can't work to accomplish God's plan for us. We have to overcome our feelings of inferiority. Chip talked about four different areas we can change in working to overcome inferiority:
- Changing our image -- the way we see ourselves
- Changing our environment -- don't let Ecclesiastes 11:4 be our result
- Changing what we say -- especially about ourselves
- Changing our actions -- cause we can't do the same things and expect different results
Chip also gave us three examples from the Bible of people who had to overcome inferiority to succeed at what they were called to do. First we talked about Moses. Moses -- a prince who found out he was supposed to be the savior of his entire race, and when he decided he could save them all on his own, he killed someone, and then didn't even realize it was a problem until he notice that the rest of his people didn't really appreciate it. Then he runs away and hides out with his in-laws in the desert for 40 years. He was so traumatized he developed a stutter. So he's got some inferiority issues. But after all that is when God appears so him and tells him that He still plans for Moses to lead an entire nation out of slavery! And as soon as Moses started trying to explain to God (ha ha) how inferior he was, God just knocked all of his arguments out of the way.
Chip also brought up Jeremiah, who was just a teenager when God called him to be a prophet, and Amos who was called to speak on the level of Isaiah and Ezekiel, even though he'd had no academic training and his only job was as a fig-picker. Yet God told each of them how He had called them and that was enough. He even explained to Jeremiah that he'd visualized this plan for his life before he was even conceived! God has ideas that far in advance! (As a planner, I really love that thought.)
Each of these guys had their own hangups about themselves -- "I'm not talented like that / I'm not the right age / I don't have the right training" -- but God's answer was always the same, and it's the same answer He has for each of us: "I AM, and I have called and equipped you."
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I have to say, I was a little late getting the blog for this week up, and I'm part of that was because it was of the topic. Inferiority is something I struggle with -- I do tend to do like it says in Ecclesiates 11:4 and look around me and think "What's the point?" I was one of those people, like Seana, who didn't feel like I had gotten much of anything out of my four years in college, and I'm still figuring out what/who I want to be when I grow up. ;-) I know I definitely need to be working on all four of those areas of change to build up my confidence in God's view of me as His child.
Thankfully, we have a great church and a great Kynetic group, and this seems to be a hot topic right now -- everything necessary to get us moving onward and upward with God. And it's encouraging to know that so many of us are moving forward together -- that there are people around me to help push me along and not let me fall behind. I know I need it. (Thanks, Brooke and Kevin. :-) )
Just to warn everyone: I got carried away (again) so my post is a little lengthy but I had a lot on my heart and I hope it’s reflected. I am so excited about posting for this blog because I came across something the other day that really spoke to me and I couldn’t wait to share it!! What I absolutely love about those who God used in the Bible is that there was nothing extraordinary about them. They were all normal people who God was able to look at and see their potential. He was fully aware of what they were capable of but it was a matter of each person choosing to walk the path He placed them on. God used fishermen, shepherds, fig pickers (which is still funny to think about) and a teenage girl. There was nothing overly special about Mary but through her obedience, she gave birth to our Savior. Don’t you think she questioned God’s choice? Why would He pick her when He could choose a woman of means or whatever else? Yet God didn’t let Mary’s age or family background or anything else alter His decision. Since God knows, oh, everything, who are we to second guess His decisions?
One of my favorite people in the Bible is Esther. She viewed herself as a common Jew but God used her to save His people. I know I’ve mentioned some of my “favorite” verses before and here’s another one: “For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). I love it because it’s a great example of the choice we all must make when faced with either trusting God and what He’s called us to do or letting fear make the decision for us. Esther could have refused to go to the king and not speak up for her people. Had she said no, God would have simply found someone else who would obey. When thinking about this story, I realized that God doesn’t need us to obey Him. If we choose not to obey, He’ll just find someone else who will. But by saying yes to Him, we’re able to reap the blessings that result from that obedience. So it really is a win-win situation for us: we obey and get blessed for it. What better deal is there?
Ok, so the thing I mentioned that I was super pumped to share. The other day I was reading the Power of the Word newsletter and the topic was decisions (how relevant – wonder if he’s heard Dayton’s decision making series?). At one point Pastor says, “There are occasions when we can become paralyzed trying to make a perfect decision, which then prevents us from making one that is mostly right. It is true that we cannot get rid of all the potential for failure in every circumstance that is presented to us. Furthermore, we certainly should use caution and wisdom, but we cannot allow fear and apprehension to make our choices for us.” He goes on to list ways that we can make the right decisions but the thing that really jumped out at me was his point to check our desires. “Desire is one of the great ways that the Lord leads us. What we want to do may very well be God leading us. Now, I am not talking about desires of the flesh, but instead, a desire that runs deep in your spirit; something you want so much and you think it’s impossible that it could ever happen…that’s God. It is true that the desires God puts in us will usually seem impossible to achieve or attain on our own.” I think we all have those desires in us that are so precious but yet we wonder how they could ever come to fruition. Because they’re so deeply ingrained in us, we feel more vulnerable setting out to achieve them. It’s then that we let fear cause those desires to remain unfulfilled and we never experience what God has for us because we’re too scared to trust and take a step of faith. We argue with God that He has the wrong person (we pull a Moses or a Jonah or a Gideon or a Mary or…I think you get the idea). This all goes back to who are we to question God. One other thing I want to say is about the verse mentioned. Pastor read Ecclesiastes 11:4 last Sun. from the Living Bible and I absolutely loved the translation: “If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done!” (I added the exclamation mark because I think it’s fitting). We can all name umpteen reasons why we’re not qualified for the calling God has placed on our lives. Yet it’s through our imperfections and insecurities that God can shine through and fill in those gaps with His strength, allowing us to become as He sees us.
Chip did a killer job as always. I love being able to come in, sit down, eat (my favorite part lol) and discuss the Word with believers.
One of my favorite parts of this discussion was thinking and saying what God thinks and says about us. Gideon, Moses, David, I could go one and on. Each of them had to except, believe, and speak what God was saying to and about them. Even Mary (mother of Jesus) had to say,"may it be unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38) She had to except the gift God had given her. It all starts with that. OK God, You say I'm a "mighty man of valor" (judges 6:12) then I am. You say I'm "blessed" (Deut 28)well then, I am.
At first its sound so odd to say that about yourself, but then the more you say it the more you start to believe it. Before long you can say it with confidence. Its like that Now Faith in Heb 11:1 wells up on the inside of you every time you say it, I'm the "head and not the tail" I'm "Above only" and "Not beneath" (Deut 28) that piece of the Word becomes alive in you. Wow, I love it! I know more was said but that is what impacted me most. I can't say enough how much I love the time we get to sit and discuss the Word as a family of believers.
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