A couple weeks ago I had mentioned talking about inadequacy. As I sat down to put pen to paper that is EXACTLY what I felt. Inadequate. I could have positioned myself to write about anything else this evening. And yet the only thing I could muster up were thoughts of inadequacy.
So…here we are (insert awkward silence here). Yep, awkward.
We can feel so inadequate can’t we? We aren’t thin enough or we don’t have curves in the right places. We aren’t smart enough or successful enough. We don’t have a glamourous job. We wore jeans to church instead of something more “appropriate”. We don’t have a spotless home. We aren’t creative or crafty enough. We don’t cook supper on time. We aren’t fashionably sensible. We aren’t in the right “friend group.” We aren’t well-liked. We can’t get these KIDS under control. We must be empowered by the world’s standards. These are real insecurities we face, THEY ARE NOT TRIVIAL because they weigh on us almost daily. Not to mention the insecurities can run into our faith as well. We are too broken. We don’t pray enough. We don’t serve enough. We don’t sit in awe enough. We don’t worship enough. We aren’t deserving enough of God’s love.
Do any of these sound familiar to you? Yeah, me too girl. I wrestle daily with where the heck the world’s standards and God’s standards meet…when I know they don’t.
But honestly, today I felt completely inadequate as I sat down to write. I went to church and felt like I looked ok. I cooked for others and my family. I spent time with loved ones and tended to animals. I did homework that was due and wrote down my weekly to-do. All the things the world says I should do decently, I did. And yet…the inadequacy I felt when I wanted to write about ANYTHING BUT inadequacy was too strong to ignore.
So I turned on Here Again and sat in stillness and listened (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyjdUKMSM4E).
I’m not enough unless You come, will you meet me here again? Cause all I want is all You are, will You meet me here again?
God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
And I sat here in my weakness and inadequacy, completely in awe of God’s message.
I am inadequate. I was born into sin. I have a sinful nature. And I will never live up to the world’s standards. But guess what? I am redeemed. I am loved. I am a child of a loving Father. And all I have to do is ask God to show up in my inadequateness, AND THEN….then I become more than enough. I become strong. I become wise. I become joyful. I become gentle. I become humble. I become adequate. All because of God’s presence. All because of God’s love. All because of God’s sovereignty. My inadequacy is a vessel for His power.
Why in the rush do we forget God’s sovereignty? Where in the worry of keeping up with the narrative as women do we lose God’s love? What do we gain from keeping up with the world? Let me clarify this for you – We are inadequate as servants of the Lord and we need Him to be completely adequate, however; WE WILL NOT COUNT OURSELVES INADEQUATE BY THE WORLD’S STANDARDS ANY LONGER. The world didn’t make us so why does the world get to set our standards? Exactly. The world doesn’t. Its time to put your foot down sister, and use God’s power to do it.
Sit in stillness. Listen to His voice. For my power is made perfect in weakness. It’s time for us to see ourselves through the eyes of the God. Its time to embrace the inadequateness that only God can shape into a completeness and let go of living by the standard of the world. We have to hold tight to the truth of who God says we are. And if we can’t see it, ask God to reveal all the beauty and mess of what God made. Write it down and share it. I’d LOVE to read it. Where you see yourself as broken, find a masterpiece. When you see yourself as unworthy, see the daughter of the Most High. When you see yourself as weak, see His strength. When you find yourself alone, He calls you “mine.” When you find yourself hurting and forsaken, see the love, compassion, and mercy He equipped you with.
God’s power is sovereign. Use it and stop living by the standard of the world. God has a plan for your inadequateness, and it is going to be beautiful.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not evil, for hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
feed yourself, girl 