"Success means we go to sleep at night knowing our talents and abilities were used in a way that served others." -Marianne Williamson
Yes, I am a day late, but hopefully there is a consensus that I am not a dollar short.
To be completely honest, Tuesday rolled around and I had no idea what I was going to write about this week. Wednesday dawned and dusked and I lost hope, giving up on the idea that I could crank out some quality writing in a matter of hours.
But then something astonishing happened. As I was drinking my coffee this morning I was reminded of a passage I had completed yesterday in my War Room Bible study. In a post I wrote a few weeks ago, I mentioned Moses' uncertainty, Joshua's fear, Gideon's doubt, and Jonah's flight. Oddly enough, yesterday's assignment focused on just that, and I decided to dedicate an entire post to it this week.
The particular assignment focused on weakness and how God takes full advantage of it within us. It is when we feel the most incomplete, the most incompetent that He completes us and suits us up for battle.
Exhibit A:
"But Moses said to the Lord 'My Lord, I've never been able to speak well, not yesterday not the day before, and certainly not now since you've been talking to your servant. I have a slow mouth and a thick tongue.' Then the Lord said to him 'Who gives people the ability to speak? Who's responsible for making them unable to speak or hard of hearing, sighted or blind? Isn't it I, the Lord? Now go! I'll help you speak, and I'll teach you what you should say.'" Exodus 4:10-12
As a shy girl, I can most definitely relate to Moses' distress. I tend not to speak a great deal when I am in a group, and I often doubt my own abilities. Am I intelligent enough? Tenacious enough? Persistent enough? These thoughts have risen as I consider a career in education. It is a mile and a half outside of my comfort zone, and that terrifies me! God makes it perfectly clear to Moses though. I am the one who gives you strength. I am the one who gives you skill. Anything you lack I will give you! Despite his deficits, God still used Moses to lead the Israelites out of oppression. I am certain, if He called me to a career in teaching He will surely help me fill my deficits so that I can rightly glorify him in the position.
Exhibit B:
"The Lord's messenger came and sat under the oak at Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in a wine press to hide from the Midianites. The Lord's messenger appeared to him and said 'The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!' But Gideon replied to him, 'With all due respect, my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are His amazing works that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, didn't the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has abandoned us and allowed Midian to overpower us.' Then the Lord turned to him and said, 'You have strength, so go and rescue Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not personally sending you?' But again, Gideon said to him, 'With all due respect, my Lord, how can i rescue Israel?My clan is the weakest in Mannasseh, and I'm the youngest in my household.' The Lord replied 'Because I am with you, you will defeat the Midianites as if they were just one person.'" Judges 6: 11-17
Gideon truly believed that his meekness would hinder him. He had no idea why God was calling upon him to defeat an army when he was the youngest in the weakest tribe. I used to believe the same thing. I believed I could never be an acceptable role model because I had an eating disorder. I believed I would never do anything noteworthy because I was simply mediocre. This blog has taught me otherwise. While I may not be reaching thousands of people, I receive comments nearly every week telling me my posts have impacted someone in some way. I may not speak a ton, but I can write. I may not be the best writer, but I have been told that it is a gift. While I'm not reinventing the wheel, I am impacting my circle with the tools I have been given. It took me a long time to realize that changing the world doesn't always happen on an international stage; it often happens within the heart of one passionate individual.
There are countless stories throughout the Bible just like those of Moses and Gideon. I'm sure you are tired of reading though. If you made it this far...kudos! I appreciate your dedication!
If you take nothing else away from this post, take this: God can and will use you. He doesn't need us to be perfect, He is completely fine with using broken, incomplete vessels, for it is in our weakness, our deficit that He is able to complete us and shine brightly.
So don't ignore those gifts and talents that you do possess. God will use them in combination with His perfect power to change the world from right where you're standing.
xoxo,
jkd
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