Mensa Otabil - A Sense of Inadequacy
- Watch
- Donate
Welcome to a brand new week, in our 40 Days of Power. This week we’re going to look at overcoming limitations. Many times, when God wants us to do something, we feel inadequate, and we have to trust the Lord to break the barriers that stand between us and God’s purpose for our lives. We will examine various characters and how they broke their limitations. We' ll look at Jeremiah, Gideon, Zechariah, Caleb, and then later go to the New Testament. We start today with Jeremiah, and this is the 12th day of our 40 Days of Power.
Jeremiah 1: 6 — 7: Then said I, «O Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.» But the Lord said to me, «Do not say, 'I am a youth, ' for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.» Jeremiah was young and inexperienced when God called him to his mission. He had been raised up as a priest, but God wanted him to become a prophet to his people and also to other nations, to speak into the destiny of nations. He felt very inadequate.
Many times, God wants us to do something, and the task is far bigger than how we perceive ourselves. We think we don’t have the qualifications, we are not the right age, we don’t come from the right family, and that becomes a stumbling block. But this year, as we fast and pray, every sense of limitation and inadequacy that stands between you and your assignment has to move away, because God wants to do great things with your life.
Jeremiah talked about two things. He said, «Lord, I cannot speak.» That’s a very serious excuse from someone who is supposed to be a prophet because a prophet must, of necessity, speak. Jeremiah states that he can’t speak because he is afraid of the people God has sent him to. He is afraid because these are powerful people; they are older than him, and he just can’t stand in front of them and declare the word of the Lord. The second thing he says is, «I am a youth.» At this time, Jeremiah is in his 20s. In one sense, he’s young, but he’s not really young because he’s a priest; he’s qualified to be a priest. He refers to himself as a youth in relation to the assignment.
I don’t know where you stand in your life. Maybe you look at where God wants to take you and say, «Oh, I don’t think I’m ready. I’m inexperienced. There are better qualified people than myself.» Well, if there were people better qualified than yourself, do you think God would have chosen you? God chose you because you are the qualified person He can use. You don’t qualify yourself when God chooses you; He qualifies you. If He says you can do it, then you can do it.
So Jeremiah gave those two excuses: «I cannot speak.» Maybe you can say, «I don’t have the right degree. I don’t have the money. I don’t have many things.» Those could be your excuses. But then God responds to Jeremiah: «Do not say I am a youth.» This is very important because what we say can be a snare and a limitation to us. As we trust the Lord this month, one of the things you will learn to do is to avoid saying the wrong things about yourself. Don’t say, «I cannot.» Don’t say, «I am not able.» Don’t say, «I don’t have what it takes.» If God says you will do it, you will do it.
That’s exactly what the Lord said to Jeremiah: «You shall go to the people I’m sending you to, and you shall say what I want you to say.» Whether you can speak or not, you will say it. This week, we are breaking every limitation- self-imposed limitations, limitations within us, maybe based on past mistakes we believe disqualify us. God says, «Don’t say that about yourself. Trust in Him. He will give you the victory.»
So, somebody is breaking barriers this week, and limitations are giving way to God’s purpose. Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, I receive your assignment for my life. By your grace, I will perform the task you have given me. In Jesus' name, amen.»