3.28.12 "You're Not Good Enough!"

"You're Not Good Enough!"

Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22
Luke 8:4-21
Psalm 69:19-36
Proverbs 12:2-3

Have you been in a situation where you've felt ill-equipped? It can be paralyzing. It may be that you see a need, but you know it's beyond you to meet it, or you know there's others who can do it better, or maybe it's something you've been assigned to do but the task is just too indimidating.

I've told this story several times, so forgive me if you've heard it before, but for me it was a significant moment in my life. I hadn't been on staff as the music pastor for long, and the worship leader was gone so I filled in to lead worship. Another piano player then played for me. We are now very good friends, but at that time I didn't know him very well. I had heard what a great player he was, but I was not prepared for what I heard. He was incredible!

I'll never forget that moment. I could go stand right where I was when this happened. It was during rehearsal, and as he was playing, and we were all singing, I was thinking, "I'll never be that good!". My thought process was one of feeling sorry for myself. I started thinking, "Why am I even in this job? I could never play like that!" I prayed, "Lord, why am I here, I'm not good enough!"

There aren't too many times in my life that the Lord has spoken to me in a way that I could actually quote him later, but this was definitely one of them! He said, "You're right! You will never be that good! But you are the one I've chosen!"

The thought "I'll never be that good!" kept cycling through my mind, but with a different tone. It was a tone of freedom. There was a revelation that how good I am is IRRELEVANT to what God had called me to if I am in a place he has assigned me.

In Deut. 9:1 Moses is speaking to Israel. "O Israel, listen! Today you are to cross the Jordan River and begin to dispossess the nations on the other side. Those nations are much greater and more powerful than you are!"

How's that for a pep-talk? How'd you like your coach to say, "alright let's go beat this team... They're a lot better than you!"

So often in our culture we are so concerned about self-esteem. Self-confidence is something that we highly value. A major reason for that is we errantly attach worth to ability. We don't understand that worth and ability are not connected. Value must come from an understanding of our Creator, and who he has made us to be, not from how we've "performed".

But since we don't understand that, we make a few mistakes. For one, we only step out in things we know we can accomplish. If God calls us to do something, we stop in our tracks because it's beyond our ability.

Another mistake is that we build false confidence in the flesh. "I'm not good enough..." "Oh yes you are! You're great! You're the best! Get out there and do it! Rah! Rah!" Because we've built the confidence in the flesh, we do go out there and some times fail, and then are hurt so we're never willing to do it again.

Now I'm not saying that we need to be brutal with one another, "Yeah, I'm thinking your low self-esteem is just good common sense!" If that's what you're getting from all this, you're missing the point! What it's taking me a LONG time to say is this: OBEDIENCE is not related to ability! In fact, God more often than not chooses to use the most "unlikely" people to do great things.

You may have experienced this at some level. God has done something great through you as a result of you stepping out in obedience. The irony of it all is, that we have to be careful on the other side, as well.

"Then, when the Lord has done this for you, don't say to yourselves, 'The Lord has helped us because we are so good!'" (v.4) We have to be careful that we don't allow God's faithfulness to us to become a pride issue. I can't stick my tongue out at my friend and say, "Nah, Nah! You can play better, but God picked me!"

Pride and insecurity are very similar! They are both self-focussed. They bring the attention away from God. I need to realize, "I am not Good Enough!" However, it's important that I only realize that to the point of FREEDOM, and not to the point of BONDAGE. If it's a point of paralysis, then I am not trusting God.

Deut. 10:12-13 puts it into perspective. "And now, Israel, what does the Lord you God require of you except to listen carefully to all he says to you, and to obey for your own good the commandments I am giving you today, and to love him, and to worship him with all you hearts and soul?"

That's all we need to worry about. Just love the Lord and walk in obedience.

God will never call us to do something without equipping us to accomplish it. However, He will always call us to accomplish more than we can in our own strength. That's how is name is made great among the people!



Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

Pastor Greg Lathe

Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ