Have you ever struggled with the feeling that you’re just not good enough? You’re not smart enough? Not handsome enough? Not beautiful enough? Not articulate enough? Just falling below some perceived standard? It’s safe to say that we’ve all felt this way at some point in life and are likely to feel that way in some area of our lives. After all, none of us is good at everything. And that’s okay. We were never created to be. When we look at ourselves before a holy God, we must realize we all fall short of His standard.
So, when does this feeling become a problem?
These feelings are crippling when they hinder our drive to pursue our purpose or cause us to view our very existence as not good enough to do so. Sadly, these thoughts often arise because of someone else’s perception or opinion about whether we meet some irrelevant expectation.
I vividly recall a high school experience when some girls in my class decided to conduct a consultation to rank the boys in the class in order of attractiveness, from most attractive to least attractive. The result was a list posted at the front of the class with their assessments.
As each boy, including myself, peeked curiously at the list, our position on the list could be determined by the look on each face. Some beamed with pride while others, including me, walked away deflated and dejected.
I wasn’t good-looking enough.
I shared the encounter with my mom. In her opinion, I was more than good-looking enough. But unfortunately, her opinion didn’t resonate with me at the time. I wanted the approval of a different group of people—the girls.
This encounter reveals some realities about our feelings of inadequacy that show up in different areas of our lives:
1. They are not based on facts or truth, but on someone’s opinion.
2. They result from us seeking affirmation from the wrong sources.
3. They can also reveal our selfish desires for supremacy.
(If the girls had decided that I was at the top of the list, I highly doubt I would have been concerned about who was at the bottom.).
Your Creator has already declared that you are a remarkable work of His hand. Psalms 139:14 says, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”
And we have been uniquely created for a fantastic purpose. The same Psalm says in verses 16-17, “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!”
God’s thoughts of you and me matter most.
When we realize that we have been blessed with incredible gifts for a particular reason, it transforms our perspective, allowing us to pursue our purpose with passion and to do everything possible to help others experience the same.
So, take God at His Word and get busy doing what He has created you to do.