The Lie of Inadequacy

The enemy of my soul is lying to me. His lies come in many forms. Sometimes they are soft whispers, sometimes they are strong statements, and other times they are patterns of thinking that have built over time.

If I am going to live in victory I have to recognize the enemy’s lies. His voice is distinct from God’s voice. It tears down, destroys, isolates, and pulls apart. It distracts, holds back, and keeps us from all that God has for us.

One lie I often hear from the enemy is the lie of inadequacy. The voice that tells me: You can never do this. You don’t have the experience. You have too many problems. You don’t measure up. When people really know you, they won’t want anything to do with you.

I remember the first time in my career that I held a leadership position where other employees reported to me. It was right after I finished my masters. I was young. I had no idea what to do. And I was pretty convinced the three or four guys who now reported to me were not going to be thrilled. Doubts ran through my head. At first, I listened to the doubts, held back, and didn’t fully lead.

One day, I remember my boss telling me that I was going to need to give my team some specific instruction and correction. The lies circled my mind: I am not cut out for this. I cannot do this. Someone else needs to be in this position. But since my boss was telling me what I needed to do, I did.

Funny thing is, over time, as I began to lead, I saw a different picture then the one the enemy had painted for me. The guys I was working with were amazing. Not only did we work well together, we enjoyed it. Looking back I can see that the enemy wanted to keep me from growing. He didn’t want me to develop as a leader. He didn’t want me to have a healthy confidence in the place God had put me.

This is only one example of when the enemy’s lie of inadequacy made its way into my thinking. Other times I doubt if I anything to offer in my friendships, if I can lead others who are older and wiser than me, or if I can overcome my weaknesses.

Every time the lie of inadequacy enters I want to give up or run away, but I have found that God is constantly putting us in places and positions that stretch us. He sees us for what we can be. We see our weak places. We see what we don’t know or what we can’t do. He sees what He can do in us.

When I find myself if this place of self-doubt, I have learned that I need to gain a new perspective. I need to look at the truth and not at my shortcomings. The truth is no matter how overwhelming the task in front of me is, I am adequate. Not because I am so great or so strong, but because God is great and God is strong. In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul talks about finding our confidence in Christ, and he makes the statement, “Our adequacy is from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5) What a powerful and life-giving truth. In God I am adequate. I am able.

What are you facing today? Do you believe that God is adequate to meet your needs? Do you believe He can work through you?

It is time to stop our negative self-talk. Yes, we need to have healthy self-awareness. Yes, there are certainly some things we cannot do or situations we should not put ourselves in. But when it comes to our jobs, our family life, our finances, our dreams, or the place that God has us in today, we have to think the right thoughts. Instead of running from trouble or things are hard, we have to look to God. We have to let Him fill us.

It is time to stop believing the lie of inadequacy and to walk forward with faith, straight into the adventure God has for us.

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When He puts forth all His own, He goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow Him because they know His voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but they flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.
John 10:4-5 NASB

Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.
2 Corinthians 3:4-5 NASB