Unqualified

Have you ever been told you’re unqualified to do something? I can tell you from experience that it’s a confidence crusher, especially when you hear it over and over. After awhile you can begin to believe it yourself. You may even tell yourself that you’re unqualified to do something. Fear likes to use that line to keep us where we are so we don’t step out in faith. So many people let that word hold them back, but there are those who defy it. There are those who know that most of what God calls you to,you’re going to be or feel unqualified to do and step out anyway. They push past their fear and feelings into a position of faith and reliance on God to show up. It’s on,y when we push past the natural that we activate the supernatural. The Bible shared stories of people like that in order to encourage us to do the same.

In 1 Samuel 17, we read the story of a teenage boy who is the youngest of his brothers. They were off at war while he stayed home. After a while, his father sent him with a care package for his brothers. When he arrived at the battlefront, he saw the enemy had a mighty warrior that everyone was afraid of. Something in him rose up beyond his lack of qualifications to say that he could beat this guy. His brothers told him he was too young and was just showing off. The king told him he was unskilled and unqualified to fight. Even as he stepped onto the battlefield to face this mighty foe, the enemy taunted him using his lack of qualifications. However, this young man didn’t let that stop him. In verse 46 he replied to the taunts, “Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!” (NLT). Then, this unqualified boy, grabbed a stone, put it in a sling, ran towards the enemy and killed him.

Jeremiah 17:7 says, “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.” Where is your hope and confidence? Is it in your qualifications or what people say about you? Or is it in the Lord who called you? David trusted in God controlling the outcome regardless of his qualifications and even though he was outmatched in every area. He stepped onto the battlefield in faith trusting God to do what he could not. He still had to face the giant. He had to endure the ridicule. He also had to put the stone in the sling and send it flying. Stepping out in faith is going to require more than just standing on the battlefield. It’s going to require action from you. God used a skill David had to unconventionally defeat the enemy. Don’t let your lack of qualifications keep you on the sidelines. Put your hope and confidence in the Lord and starting taking on giants.

Photo by Jonathan Zerger on Unsplash