God's Adequacy – Greater Than Our Inadequacy

While it's impossible to travel back in time to relive the past, opportunities for new beginnings do occasionally occur. When the chance to start over seems possible, most individuals are seldom ready to let go of the familiar. Hesitation and second thoughts often accompany most future changes.

This is what Moses experienced when God called him to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt. The changes he faced were so out of sight, he felt completely inadequate for the task. Anxiety and fear prevented him from initially accepting God’s promise of success in this grand scheme to free the Hebrew people.

When a task appears beyond accomplishing, a natural response is to make excuses for your inadequacies. Moses quickly reminded God he was not adequate for the task and needed assurance of his presence to help and guide. If God is nudging you to make needed changes, his presence and power will secure your success.

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God told me, “My love is enough for you. When you are weak, My power is doing its best work.” So I’ll delight rather to feel proud of my weaknesses in order to have Christ’s power rest on me.”

~2 Corinthians 12:9 Beck – New Testament in the Language of Today

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Leaving Home

Jacob grew up feeling a deep sense of attachment to his mother. His brother Esau was close to the father. We see this same dynamic in contemporary families even though the circumstances and culture are different. Personality and temperament can influence a child to identify with one parent, which gives the appearance of favoritism and paves the way for sibling rivalry.

Favoritism most often opens the door for self-centeredness. Self-centeredness can be so deliberately expressed, there can be no mistake identifying it. On the other hand, self-centeredness can be expressed so creatively, you may feel that person is doing you a favor by using you for their good.

Self-centeredness can be linked to feelings of fear and inadequacy, leaving a person believing if they look right, act right, these feelings will remain concealed. When we commit our deficiencies to Christ Jesus, they lose their power to control our lives. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Have you committed your life to Jesus? Why not do it now?

The Quest for Power and Position

The biblical account of Jacob and Esau outlines one person’s quest for power. Jacob’s plot to manipulate Esau into trading his birthright for a pot of soup was an attempt to gain a place of prominence in his family. Jacob needed power and was willing to be deceitful, disloyal and become a co-conspirator with his mother Rebekah to ensure he obtained it.

What he didn’t realize was that this drive for power and position would be an impediment to becoming the person God designed him to be. He would be driven by fear and a false sense of self that would get reinforced every time he used his manipulative skills to get what he wanted.

FEAR is a strong force in everyone and equal to our feelings of inadequacy. It would be decades before Jacob became conscious of his real weaknesses and was able to face them squarely. Only as fear is faced can a person evolve the character strengths God will use to do his work.  "With God, all things are possible."