Feeling Under-qualified for Your Calling? 10 Reasons Why You Can Do It Anyway

Have you ever had the feeling you’re not able to do what God has told you to do?

You feel drawn towards a calling or you’ve received a word or confirmation about what you’re called to do next, you’re even passionate and excited about it, but you also feel scared and worried you don’t have sufficient ability or the skill or enough training or qualifications to deliver?

Have you ever thought “it’s great that God is using *input name here* he/she is great, oozes confidence and was so made for this”? You clap for them but when God wants to use you, bring on the excuses why you’re not ready for the call. Deep down you know your purpose and calling, but also feel like you’re not enough. Maybe you feel unworthy because of who you used to be and past mistakes.

 Or maybe you know you have some of the skills and attributes and you’re practising little steps of faith but there’s that one thing God is asking you to do and it feels BIG, so you’re holding back on doing it? Maybe you’re scared of failure or you tried before and failed.

 Do you feel embarrassed about it and care about what other people might say when they learn that God has called you to preach, or to write a Christian book, or to start that business or blog or go to Bible college or whatever it is. Maybe its other people’s opinions holding you back, because you’re unsure of how they’ll receive it?

You’re not the only one!

You are not the only one, my dear. Here are a few quotes from a treasured friend of ours – a ‘biblical mentor’ as I like to call him.

  • “Who am I that I should go?…” Exodus 3:11  
  • “What if they don’t believe me…Exodus 4:1  
  • “But I’m not an eloquent, not in the past and not recently…. because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish” Exodus 4:10  
  • “Please Lord send someone! Exodus 4:14 
  • “How will either party listen to me if I am a poor speaker” Exodus 6:12 
  • “Since I am such a poor speaker how will Pharoah listen to me” Exodus 6:30 

Those are the words of Moses.

See! You’re not the only one. One of the greatest leaders to walk this planet can identify with how you feel.  Today we are going to walk through Moses’ past, the moment he is called, his objections and his BREAK-THROUGHS to see what we can learn to assist our faith journey, when we too are doubting that we’re ready for the call.

 

Let’s Open Our Bibles

Let’s look at this together. In Exodus 1,2 & 3 we can almost see why Moses ends up in a doubtful place. At the surface level, he doesn’t have the best start.

  • He is born a Hebrew boy in Egypt delivered under the threat of being murdered 
  • He is given up at birth for his safety & then adopted into an Egyptian family & lifestyle 
  • He’s in a place where he never quite feels a sense of belonging 
  • He grows up with the privileges of an Egyptian prince but identified with the slaves of the day, his true people, the Hebrews and therefore doesn’t easily identify with either community 
  • He ends up committing a crime and killing an Egyptian to save an Israelite.  
  • The very next day when trying to reconcile two Hebrew men in an argument, he is rejected by them. His own people who basically say ‘who do you think you are? Who made you judge over us?’ then remind him of the murder that he committed the day before. (Don’t yo just hate when people throw your past in your face?)
  • Pharaoh tries to kill him 
  • Moses, he runs away under a cloud of condemnation and rejection and for fear of being caught for his actions 

Do you see what I mean? Not the easiest start in life. So, when Moses comes to stand barefoot before God on Holy ground at aged 80, of course, he would wonder ‘why me?’. Have you ever looked at your past and then asked God ‘Why me?’. I sure have. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense that God would want to use us. 

Check out these 10 things we can ponder when we just don’t feel like we’re enough, we feel under-qualified and unworthy of our calling.

1) Move Closer To God & Take A Look

Moses Takes Time Out of His Day To Get Before God. In Exodus 3:2 Moses was shepherding his Father-in-laws flock at the time he saw the burning bush. He was at work but when he saw the miracle he stopped and went to have a closer look.

Be willing to time out and draw closer to God. Many of us have careers and other responsibilities that keep us busy and of course, we can’t just avoid and put them aside, but we do have to prioritise time before the Lord.

What is God doing around you? Be willing to stop what you are doing and take a closer look. Be intentional about making room for Him in your day. Notice God is not screaming “Moses, Moses” like how you shout down the street at your hubby or kids when they’ve forgotten their packed lunch. It’s when Moses moves in closer that God calls him.  

The Bible says Moses saw the bush was on fire but not consumed and decided ‘what a remarkable sight I must go and take a look’. And when God saw this, he spoke to Moses.

Are you willing to make room for God to speak to you? Will you be intentional about getting a little closer? Can you carve time out of your every day to get into his presence?

God is doing miracles all around us each day, from the rising of the sun in the morning to the hanging of the stars in the sky at night to the feeding of the birds during at noon, to the very air, we breathe. All good reasons to move in closer.

 

2) God Has A Plan. Trust It. Trust Him.

If God has shown you his purpose for your life, He has a plan for it too. He is a God of detail. So can we stop worrying about how it’s going to get done? The more time you spend in the presence of God the more will be revealed. He knows all the details even when we don’t. Our job is not to figure it all out in our own strength it’s just to be with Him and obey his call.

When God speaks to Moses throughout Exodus, God is not making it all up the fly. Have you ever had that colleague that hasn’t done his or her actions or preparation before a work meeting (I will mention no names)? You know that ones that suggest humungous plans with no research, promise false results and says whatever they think the manager wants to hear because they didn’t really plan for the meeting, so they are planning ‘on the fly’ and everyone sees right through it. God is NOT like that!

God has this all planned before the beginning of time because our God operates outside of time and he has considered every last detail of how he is going to free His people and Moses’ role in it. When God calls you into action, know He has a plan, He knows all the details and more importantly TRUST HIM!

 

3) You Don’t Have To Do It In Your Own Strength

If it’s God’s plan & not ours, why do we try to do it in our own strength? How many times does God say ‘I will’ or ‘I am’ in Exodus Chapter 6:6-8  

It’s all about God and who HE is! What Moses didn’t get at this point was that it wasn’t ALL about Moses. And your calling is not ALL about you. It’s about the great I AM. It’s about God getting the glory and His people being able to worship Him the way He wants them to. Here’s what happens when Moses challenges God about why Moses is chosen:

Exodus 3:11-12 (CSB) But Moses asked God,

“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

 He answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.”

God didn’t answer Moses question with details about who Moses was. God confirmed his presence. It’s God’s power that enables individuals to carry their calling.

It’s not about WHY you were chosen but about  the one WHO chose YOU and will be with you every step of the way.

 

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4) God Likes Teams & He Will Help You Find One – #TeamJesus

Jesus could have done it all on his own yet he had 12 disciples, friends, with whom he could journey with and pass the baton on to. It’s not always easy to find the right support and as adults, we sometimes have a harder time trusting people, but God will bring you a tribe to complement you at just the right time.

Notice that when Moses says he doesn’t want to go because he can’t speak, God doesn’t say well you don’t have to speak any more, you’re off the hook, your brother Aaron will speak INSTEAD OF YOU. Moses is still called to lead this thing and to speak.

Exodus 14:16 “Isn’t Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, he is on the way to meet you. He will rejoice when he sees you. You will speak with him and tell him what to say, I will HELP YOU BOTH AND HIM to speak and will TEACH YOU BOTH what to do. He will speak to the people for you. He will serve as a mouth for you, and you will serve as God to him.

Moses was still a leader and mouthpiece for God and he now had someone help him on the journey. Whoop whoop, team Jesus!!!!

God will send the right people to help you! To complement you and to whom you can pass on the baton in the future. He’s got it all figured out. One of my favourite hashtags is this #bettertogether 

 

5) God Is A Teacher – Be A Willing Student

Christian Womens blog

Linking perfectly with the previous point! If we go back to the beginning of this article, we shared excuses that Moses used as to why God should send someone else. I love these 5 words, they were like ‘boom’ in my face –

Exodus 4.15 “…I – will – teach – you – both”. 

He knows you are underprepared. Who can be prepared to be part of a plan for saving the world? No one except Jesus! He was born ready!

Here God shows himself as a teacher. He is the best teacher you can ever have, so even if you don’t have confidence in yourself, have confidence in Him. Moses still has to speak. He is still called to go.

Sis, if God is calling you to it, he will teach and train you for it. Don’t shy away from it. Be a willing student. 

 

6) God Can Use Your Everyday Stuff To Do Supernatural Things – Wotcha Got Girl?

It’s easy to not see the connection between your everyday gifts and the supernatural. Moses was leading sheep. Of course, he was because that’s what shepherds do – stating the obvious or what? But sometimes it is in the obvious. Being able to have the patience, wisdom care, skill and commitment to leading sheep would be the same patience, wisdom, care, skill and commitment to lead people. Those were his transferable skills. 

The Lord asked Moses:

“What is that in your hand?”  

“A staff,” Moses said. 

“Throw it down to the ground” When Moses obeyed the staff it turned to a snake and Moses ran away!  

God used an everyday item for Moses to do miracles that would transform a nation for eternity and impact all of history. 

What is obvious to you? What do you already have? Sometimes it’s through the small obvious things we already have that we can start to make a difference. 

Instead of waiting for your pastor to ordain you, give you a title, a stage platform and a microphone before you feel you can start sharing the gospel, can you use your social media platforms to start sharing the gospel? If you’re a student can you share God’s word at social groups at the local university or college? That’s how Lisa Bevere started. Next time a colleague from the office comes to you complain to about struggles in their personal life can you offer to pray with them? Are you just good with people and do you have a living room? Maybe you can invite new believers or non-believers over for a fellowship and open your doors to biblical hospitality? 

Practice where you are and be faithful in the small things. In the everyday stuff. That’s often your training ground.  If God says to do it, may our prayers be ‘Lord, I’m willing to start where I am, with what I have and I’ll allow you to do the rest’. When we allow God to connect His Super to our natural that’s when miracles happen.

 

 

7) Two Things To Let Go Of – Your Past & The Opinion Of Others 

Sometimes we let who we used to be and past mistakes get in the way of allowing God to use us. God has forgiven you. Forgive yourself. The past is gone and all things are made new – you are a new creation in Christ. Let it go girl!

I’m pretty sure that some of the questions Moses asked was because he had kind of tried to help some Hebrew men before and it never had a positive outcome and he was worried he wouldn’t be received well. He wasn’t previously. And to be honest some of the habits of the people he was called to lead DID re-surface in the future. There were many times they questioned, challenged and disobeyed Moses and God. Acts 7:17 to 43, shows that it was more about the rebellious hearts of the people that was the problem. That didn’t disqualify Moses from being the man God called for the job.  

We can’t afford to let the opinion of others and the fact that they might not believe in God’s purpose for us or for themselves, to hinder us from being obedient. God told the plans directly to Moses, then he told Moses to go tell the elders, his brother, the people and the enemy. And there were many times where Moses was clearly uncomfortable with that because he was worried about what they would think or believe.

 The truth is that some people will clap and join you on the mission, whilst others will rise up against you and your mission. What matters is who is on your side. God.

 

8) God Will Not Send You Back The Same – The Old Has Passed & The New Has Come 

Moses may have run away from Egypt in fear and because of what others said to him. We can see though, that by the time God was done transforming him and sent him back to Egypt 40 years later, he returns as a spiritual leader, an ambassador for freedom, a ruler, deliverer, judge and one of the greatest men to walk this planet.  

He came face-to-face with an angel of the Lord, He leads Israel out of Egypt, leads them through the walls of the scrolled back Red Sea and is a central and key figure in one of the most powerful storylines in the history of mankind. 

Sis, don’t quit on yourself. God will use you. You see the God we serve has to ability to transform us into something beautiful. Despite how Moses saw himself this is what Acts 7 says about him: 

  • At this time Moses was born and he was beautiful in Gods sight – You, my friend are beautiful in God’s sight 
  • Moses was educated and was powerful in his speech and actions – Girl you too are a powerful being because of WHO is in you. 

Have you heard the song that says “I Give it all to you God, Trusting that you’ll make something beautiful out of me”? That’s our Lord. Moulding, teaching & nurturing us into something beautiful because He loves us. Because He is love. 

 

9) You Aren’t Too Old  – You’re Not Too Late & You Haven’t Missed The Boat

Moses was 80 years of age when he came face-to-face with God at the burning bush.  I’ll leave that one right there.

 

You are not too old to do what God has called you to do

10) Your Value Is Not In Our Purpose – God Values You Anyway

We have to use wisdom and balance, being careful we don’t fall into a rabbit hole of chasing our purpose more than we chase God. In this generation, there are a plethora of skills tests, gift tests and personality tests, self-help books, online courses and social media gurus helping us to find our purpose and we can easily fall into a rut of spending more time playing around with them than we spend in the presence of God. We put so much effort into seeking our purpose. If we put the same effort into seeking God first, we will surely find our purpose.  

If I did nothing….. 

And the real truth for me is this. If I did nothing (not that I want to do nothing) God would still love me. We don’t live a works-based life believing that what we do for God is what gets us salvation. It doesn’t. And the truth is God doesn’t NEED me or you but we are blessed to be included in His plans! Salvation is a FREE GIFT that we cannot earn. At the same time, as I posted in my Insta recently, “God can work miracles when we work too”. 

 

I AM WHO I AM

2 Corinthians 3:5 New Living Translation (NLT)

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.

God reveals HIS promises, HIMSELF and HIS purpose and HIS plans to Moses. Despite Moses many questions, he still allows God to move through him and for him. He does ‘go’ as God requested.  

So next time you feel doubtful or don’t feel like you are not enough, remember that God is your assurance and He is more than enough. He is I AM WHO I AM because Yahweh cannot be limited by a name and is revealed to us as we draw near to Him and Him to us. 

When Moses says in Exodus 4:10 “I am not eloquent in speech”, our heavenly father replied, “I, Yahweh, am the one who made your mouth”.  

God is self-existent, the creator and sustainer of all that exist, God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He is eternal, He is a promise keeper and He is with you. 

Now, do you feel ready to go? Because we can see that through the history of mankind, God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called!

Girl, that makes you called AND qualified. Let’ do this queen!

 

Bible Verse

 

 PIN FEELING UNER-QUALIFIED FOR YOUR GOD-GIVEN PURPOSE DO IT ANYWAY

 

PIN FEELING UNER-QUALIFIED FOR YOUR GOD-GIVEN PURPOSE DO IT ANYWAY

PIN FEELING UNER-QUALIFIED FOR YOUR GOD-GIVEN PURPOSE DO IT ANYWAY

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