I’m not sure when we all began to believe that our twenties would bring about some sort of perfection, but unfortunately, a lot of us are still on the struggle bus. If you’re on social media, I’m sure you’ve seen the constant tweets, captions, and rants about our apparent failures: no marriage, no house, our student loan debt, and the jobs we take to meet needs but not passions, to name a few. While we’re good at making jokes about it or even blaming the baby boomers who came before us, there is this sense of failure or inadequacy that we all tend to feel, at least at one point of time in our twenty-something journey. This belief challenges our power, our confidence, and our self-esteem. It’s no surprise then that when we want to make big moves, we find ourselves stuck and unable to move forward.

“Moses said to the Lord, ‘Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’” – Exodus 4:10-12 NIV

In my last post, I spoke about the paralyzing effects of fear and how inadequacy plays into it. I wanted to dig a little deeper into inadequacy this time because, at least for me, it haunts me even more than the fear of failure or disapproval. Despite the possibility of failing, I may still make an attempt at something simply because I believe I can do it. If I feel inadequate, however, I won’t even try because from the beginning, I don’t believe I have the tools or skills necessary to succeed. If I don’t try, I will inevitably become stagnant. My stagnation, as a result, will lead to my purpose not being fulfilled. That’s the real problem!

A few weeks ago I came across this story of Moses with fresh eyes. If you don’t know, Moses was called by God to rescue the Israelites from the oppressive rule of Pharaoh and take them to the Promised Land. When God called him for this task, Moses immediately began to coward away. Though a believer, someone who revered God, when it was time to test God’s promises in his own life, there was a sense of hesitancy. Moses, quick with the comeback, thought it smart to inform God about his stuttering issues, as if, by chance, God wasn’t aware. Doesn’t this sound like us? We say we are believers. We know the scriptures. We are moved by the testimonies of others. Despite this, when the light shines on us, suddenly those things don’t apply. We are suddenly so different. Our struggle isn’t like their struggle. We aren’t faithful like they are. We push the call away immediately, not even wanting to waste God’s time. We aren’t fit. We can’t do it.

The beauty of this scripture is in God’s response. I can envision God rolling His eyes at Moses’ rebuttal. “Do you know who I am?! Do you know what I can do? What I’ve already done?! I’m not worried about how you speak, son!” In fact, God responds almost exactly in that way. He reminds Moses of who He is. The power He has. The foresight He possesses. Then like a loving father, He brings comfort, letting Moses know that He will be with him and will give him the words to speak. If only it were that simple for us. Why can’t we believe God’s word for what it is?

“But Moses said to the Lord, ‘Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?’ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.’” – Exodus 6:30, 7:1-2 NIV

Like Moses, who still had the same tired excuses chapters later, no matter what God promises us or tells us, we can’t trust Him because we’re busy focusing on us. We want control. We want assurance in our own capabilities. We want to only have wins in our records. Because we don’t see what God sees, we refuse to move forward. God called Moses to be like God to Pharaoh, full of power and authority. He called Aaron, Moses’ brother, to be a prophet on Moses’ behalf, already considering Moses’ stuttering. God already had the plan ready to go. If Moses never humbled himself and submitted (thank God!), he would have missed the opportunity to let God use him for something mighty. Will we let our own flaws and shortcomings stop us from doing the great things God planned for us?

This is just a reminder that God is fully aware of your humanity. We will never be perfect. We will always have feelings of fear, of inadequacy, and failure. If God isn’t concerned about it, or better yet, can use it for His glory, we need to humble ourselves and simply say yes. Our job is to be obedient and to trust our source. If God is calling us to do something we can’t do, that’s more of a reason to go for it. God, clearly, has a plan for the victory. If it is for God, He won’t leave you. Trust Him and watch Him use you in ways you wouldn’t believe.

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” -2 Corinthians 12:10

Stop looking at yourself and start looking up! Even if you can’t do it, in your own strength, He’s got it. Chill out and get to work, twenty somethings!