Have you ever felt unqualified to do what God was asking you to do? I sure have, many times. My first year of teaching is a perfect example of one such occasion. I walked into a classroom full of children, and I was supposed to figure out where each child was academically and each of their learning styles and what emotional or mental needs were holding them back from learning and how to connect with each one of them on a personal level so we they could move forward in their academic progress. It was daunting to say the least. By my twenty-third year of teaching, I was a much more experienced teacher than I was in my first year of teaching, but I was still learning how to best do my job as a teacher. In order to teach well, I had to always be willing to learn.
I think that is the case with most things in life. I am not sure many of us would want a doctor operating on us that was considered an expert in his field twenty years ago, but had not ever received any more training. Or a car repairman that was an expert with cars made in the 1950’s but unsure of what to do with a car made in the twenty-first century. I don’t think there will ever be a point where we “have arrived” and have achieved expert status, and our days of growth are over. I think God designed us to always grow and change, and that is even true of our relationship with Him. I don’t think there will ever be a time where we are finished learning about Him and going deeper with Him.
2 Corinthians 12 is an interesting passage of scripture. Paul begins the chapter speaking about revelations he had received from God that He was not allowed to talk about. Paul had essentially been caught up into heaven and had experienced things with God he did not feel free to discuss. But despite having that type of relationship with God, there were areas that Paul felt weak. In other words, despite these amazing revelations God had blessed Paul with, he definitely did not feel like an expert. Paul even discusses a “thorn in his side” that was given to him so he would not become arrogant. There is no way of knowing (although many have speculated) what that “thorn” was. Paul had pleaded with the Lord to remove the thorn and God’s response was not to remove the thorn but instead point Paul back to the importance of dependence on God. In verse 9, there is a portion where God is speaking directly to Paul and He says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” The Passion translation puts it this way, “My grace is always more than enough for you, and my power finds its full expression through your weakness.” My power finds its full expression through your weakness! Wow!
Let’s also look at the first part of that scripture. What is grace? Grace is defined as unmerited favor, undeserved blessing, a free gift. Meaning, grace is given freely by God. There is nothing we can do to earn it! We receive grace because we are God’s children and He absolutely loves us. Also, the word grace has the same origins as the word joy and rejoice. So we could also say that God bestows unmerited favor over us because He experiences intense joy when He thinks of us!
What is the message here? I think God intentionally calls us to things we feel underqualified for. I think He does this because when God looks at us, He doesn’t see the scared, nervous, insecure person we may feel we are right now. He sees the person we are created to be. Every single one of us is created for greatness. Greatness in God. He created us with a unique set of talents and gifts and ways of seeing the world. His great joy is to partner with us in how He created us to be to bring His kingdom to Earth. But He doesn’t wait until we have it all together and feel completely qualified. He calls us now, inviting us to trust Him with our weaknesses. Later in 2 Corinthians 12:10 Paul says “For my weakness becomes a portal to God’s power.” (The Passion Translation) So the very thing we think disqualifies us from our calling, God calls a portal for His power!
If we understand that God not only celebrates our talents, but also our weaknesses, we can lean into Him. We can come to God and say I don’t know how to do all of this. I am not sure how to navigate this set of circumstances or how I am supposed to speak life and peace into this situation or how to comfort this person or how to advise someone going through a tough time. God says Ah! Perfect. This is a perfect place to release my power, if you allow me to flow through you. How amazing is that?!
Remember, friend, God is always for us, never against us. He loves us more than we can understand or imagine. I challenge you to look into your life. Are there places you feel underqualified or lacking? Allow God to show you, those are places He wants to flow through you. Hand those places to Him and give Him permission to use those places as portals of power. Watch what happens!