Do you ever really feel qualified for the task set before you? Do you ever struggle with insignificance, doubt, fear of rejection and a fear of failure? I know do.
Now, I’m going to interrupt myself for just a second here and say this: this post won’t be for those of you who are so sure of yourself that you feel you can take on the world. This post probably isn’t going to mean diddly to those of you who are completely confident in who you are and what you are doing that you don’t even ask for advice or input anymore.
No, in this post, I am talking to the ones out there who struggle with feeling qualified. You struggle with confidence and courage issues. You battle with low self esteem and the fear of rejection or the fear of failure. YOU are whose attention I hope to grasp for just a moment or two…
Personally, I have a constant war within my mind of not measuring up to who I ought to be or not doing the things that I know I should. I struggle with confidence, sometimes, in the simplest areas of life, and yet, I get so frustrated with myself because of this lack of confidence.
Even when I might begin to feel good about something I’m doing, there comes that moment, especially when in the public view, where I look (or at least feel like I look) like a deer in headlights. This being because I just saw someone look at me the wrong way and I begin to wonder if I’ve done or said something wrong, or I have a moment where I stumble with my words and worry that I’ve messed up the whole conversation, or I didn’t flow well with the service, in which I play a very small part, and I feel as if I could just run away and hide.
I could give several reasons for this inner battle. I could say, “Well, I’m just an introvert; so, I’m geared that way.” I could argue, “I’m a perfectionist, and I’m hard wired to always seek the perfect over the good.” I could even try to blame my parents, after all, my dad was neglective, out of the picture for most of my childhood, and my mom was a very domineering personality in the home.
Yeah, all of these have some truth in them. All of them effect who I am. However, none of these things can stand on their own when I look at this verse, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13. None of these “hold water” when I read this verse, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139:14. When I read the Bible and see what it has for me, I find these excuses and justifications don’t work very well. These factors, these excuses, which are very much a part of me, just don’t measure up to the kind of God I serve.
I have to realize in every situation that God placed me here for a reason. I have a purpose, and I must fulfill it, not for my glory and fame, but for His. When He gets the glory, people’s lives are impacted. When His glory is revealed, people’s lives are forever changed. When I get my eyes off of me and totally on Him, my feelings of insignificance, lack of confidence and fears of failure simply turn to gray, as I gaze upon His beauty and awesomeness!
So, I have made a decision to keep my eyes focused on Him, to make the best of every situation for His sake, and to surrender all my fears and doubts and “lacks of,” and let Him have complete control of all of it. I have chosen to fight these battles with confidence, or the lack thereof, and WIN! I can do this when Christ is working through me! I can succeed when He is the goal, and it’s for His glory!
You can, too!
We can do this thing! 😉
Look at these videos that I found by Jon Jorgenson. I hope you will be encouraged!
Inspired this post: http://youtu.be/ZCSlaX-u3P8
For women: http://youtu.be/uWi5iXnguTU
For men: http://youtu.be/aTAn-tk2pDA
Too often, I believe we focus so much on falling, failing and floundering that we can’t focus on freedom, finishing and flying. We get so wrapped up in the regrets of yesterday that we miss the “flight lesson” that is taking place in our lives today. If we are ever to succeed at flying, we must focus on the here and now and stop looking back. We must look forward, set our goals and take the risk. We must take the chance that just maybe we will jmp off that cliff, our sails will catch the wind and we will fly to heights unknown. 
the grizzle grist mill 