I Can't Do This!

Well, here I am, just one week away from boarding a Las Vegas-bound plane, and beginning the next adventure in God’s plan for my life. I will go from Cass City to “Sin City”, from a fairly typical Midwestern setting to a completely different world, from comfortable to waaaaayyyy outside my comfort zone!

“How do I feel about all this”, you ask? 

Honestly?

Scared. Uncomfortable. Inadequate. I can’t do this!

And do you want to know something? I’m learning to be content with these emotions.

That’s right. It used to be that, had I heard someone describe their feelings about an upcoming ministry opportunity in this way, I would say something like, “Don’t worry. I think you are very capable”, or “Be confident. You can do this!”

The truth is: I can’t do this…not in my own strength, anyway. I’m too scared, too uncomfortable, and far too inadequate for the task ahead.

This morning, I read about a man who was called outside of his comfort zone. He, too, was scared, terribly uncomfortable, and was about as inadequate as a person can be.

He was a murderer on the run—a man whose past haunted him wherever he went. In fact, he finally escaped to a place far from his home, where he intended to spend the rest of his life humbly caring for his family and shepherding his father-in-law’s sheep.

But one day God called him do something that was miles outside of his comfort zone—lead God’s enslaved people out of Egypt. He didn’t want to. In fact, he came up with every excuse he could think of not to do what God was telling him to do.

“I’m a murderer! The people won’t listen to me! What if they don’t believe that You’ve spoken to me, God? I have a sp-sp-speech im-im-immmm-ped---impediment, Lord. Please send somebody else to do this!”

But each time he raised an objection, God’s response was the same. He didn’t say, “Don’t be silly, I believe in you! You can do it, pal!” Instead, the man was reminded how powerful his God was, in contrast to his own weakness.

God showed the man miracles—turning the man’s walking stick into a vicious snake, then turning it back into a stick; causing his hand to become leprous when he put it inside his cloak, then healing it, again.

He reminded the man that He Himself was the one who made his mouth, and that He makes the mute, the deaf, and the blind. The man’s speech impediment was not a fluke, but a divinely crafted part of his being that would be used for God’s glory.

That man became one of the greatest leaders in all of history. His name was Moses.

While God is not calling me to lead His people out of exile (thankfully!), I am learning the same lesson that Moses learned: In our weakness, HE is strong.

“…My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

--God (2 Cor. 12:9)

God doesn’t deny our weakness—He emphasizes His grace and strength.

I am terribly inadequate for the task set before me. But “such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God”.

Praise the Lord for our inadequacy and His strength.

Thank you for your prayers, support, and words of encouragement.

Next stop: LAS VEGAS!