Faith Means Acting When You Feel Inadequate

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I sure know what it is like to feel inadequate. After high school I attended Moody Bible Institute. In summers I went back to my parents’ home in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. One summer, some friends and I were talking. One of them said, “I know what you’re gonna do. You’re gonna be a preacher.”

Church planter (me) wife (Carolyn) and new baby (Gabriel) 1981. We met in this recreation center here in Vista, California.

My response was like Peter who denied the Lord 3 times before the rooster crowed. I immediately answered, “Naw, not me. I can’t stand speaking in front of groups of people.”

In addition, an even greater hindrance was that I didn’t feel spiritually adequate. I thought that:

• I didn’t know the Bible well enough.I didn’t pray enough.

• I didn’t have enough spiritual insight and discernment.

• I wasn’t the man of God I needed to be.

I don’t know exactly where these feelings of inadequacy came from. But I’ve come to realize that they are quite common. We’re in good company when we feel spiritually inadequate:

• Moses felt inadequate and almost refused God’s calling, even after God spoke clearly from the burning bush. (see Exodus 3-4)

• Gideon was called, yet felt totally inadequate. He demanded miracles from God before he would respond. (see Judges 6:11-40)

• Certainly Peter and the other disciples were totally inadequate to lead in the night of Jesus’ betrayal. When things got risky, they were nowhere to be found. Soon Peter was denying he even knew the Lord Jesus! (see Luke 22:54-62.)

I’m not condemning anyone—I was the same way!

But here’s the point: Each overcame their inadequacy and became great leaders.

Faith means acting when you feel inadequate.

So how can you act in faith when you feel inadequate? Here are 4 ways:

01. Step back and confirm your calling.

This is the starting point for tackling mountain-sized goals in faith. It is also the point to return to when we feel inadequate and want to quit.

One of the best ways to confirm your calling is with a prayer retreat.

When I became a missionary in 1998, it was a huge faith step. I was not offered a paying job—I would have to quit my job as a pastor to live by faith, trusting God completely for His supply. Anything I was paid would have to be given by supporters who believed in me and my ministry.

Soon after resigning my church, I went on a prayer retreat in the mountains near our home. There I felt the weight of what I had done and prayed, “God, what have I gotten myself into now?!”

I was genuinely scared and feeling inadequate to the task of trusting God for our supply. 

Quickly the Lord spoke to my heart, “Mark, you’ve had the opportunity to start several churches as a church planting pastor. But now you will be able to help thousands of churches get started. So what are you whining about? Just get going.”

Wow, what a confirmation from the Lord. It was a balm for my troubled, inadequate soul.

From that point on I really didn’t look back.

The road ahead wasn’t always easy. But that confirmation of my calling helped give me the confidence to move ahead, despite feeling inadequate.

In 2 Corinthians 2:16 the Apostle Paul asks the question “And who is adequate for such a task as this?”

That task is spreading the Gospel of Christ. The implication is that none of us are adequate.

Yet while we are inadequate, we are called. Therefore, we do God’s work.

So when you feel inadequate, step back and confirm your calling.

02. Remember God’s past faithfulness.

Has God been faithful to you in the past?

Whether or not you realize it, the answer is “yes.” You just need to remember what He has done:

• Asaph wrote, “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.” (Psalm 77:11 ESV)

• David wrote, “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.” (Psalm 143:5 ESV)

The psalmists gained strength from remembering God’s works in the past. We must do the same.

When I was in the mountains wondering how a faith-supported ministry could work for me, it was a great comfort to remember how God had been so faithful in the past. Church planting had been a great strain, but we had survived and the churches I was privileged to lead had survived and grown.

The fact is that we are likely to survive. And even if we don’t, as John Maxwell is fond of saying, the truth is “I don’t have to survive.” 

By that I think he means that none of us are really going to survive this world anyways. The death rate for human beings is 100%.

But the fact is that you and I have survived so far and we will continue to survive until God decides it’s time to close the curtain. So how can I question His calling and faithfulness to it?

When we remember God’s faithfulness, we can once again say, “Here am I, send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

03. Take the next step, then the next and so on. 

Someone said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

No one begins at the finish line, we all begin at the starting line. Victory comes when we take the first step, then the next and so on.

What’s funny is that when I denied I would go into ministry, it was because I didn’t like speaking before groups. But guess what is one of my favorite jobs in ministry nowadays? Yep, speaking, teaching and preaching! Can you believe it?

How did that happen? It happened as I took uncomfortable steps of faith, stumbled, learned, gained confidence, saw God use me and kept going.

Just a few days ago I preached in a church that has lost its pastor. The people made it clear that they’d love me to take the job. When I think of my past I shake my head in amazement.

We must remember that confidence builds as we take the next steps. At first we will feel awkward, unprepared, and even clueless because:

• We’ve never gone this way before.

• The path is unknown.

• All the particulars aren’t settled.Questions abound.

• Fears spring up.

But as we take each successive step, we learn the path, we make progress, and we gain confidence.

When you feel inadequate, take the next step.

04. Stay humble and grow. 

As we take the next step, and begin to see success, we might face the greatest challenge of all: pride leading to overconfidence and then a fall.

Why is this so? The Bible says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18 ESV)

When we succeed, we tend to become prideful and that leads to a fall.

Someone said that “For every ten persons who can handle failure, there is only one who can handle success.”

Church history is filled with stories of successful Christian leaders who have tragically fallen to various temptations. They’ve destroyed their ministry, their family, their health.

So one of my biggest fears is pride.

The antidote to pride is to:

• Pray that God would keep me humble

• Give family and friends permission to warn me of pride

• Welcome thorns in the flesh that help to keep me humble: “So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh…” (2 Corinthians 12:7 NLT)

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT)

So for years I’ve prayed this “humility prayer” from Andrew Murray’s book Humility:

“Out of your great goodness Lord please make known to me and take away from my heart, every kind and form and degree of pride, whether it be from evil spirits, or my own corrupt nature; and please awaken in me the deepest depth and truth of that humility which can make me capable of Your light and Holy Spirit. Amen.”

So you feel inadequate? Welcome to the club and thank God for it. As the Apostle Paul said: “When I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)

For more help with overcoming inadequacy and building confidence, check out these articles I’ve written:

• How to Find Confidence in a Critical World and Stay Humble

• How to Survive Rejection and Find Acceptance Today

• How Reluctant Leaders Become Confident Achievers for God

• Having Just One Person to Please Brings Peace

• 6 Strategies to Handle Insults Without Becoming a Doormat

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

How To Tackle a Mountain-Sized Goal In Faith

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My first mountain-sized goal came in the fifth grade. Students were offered the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. I wanted to play drums, but my parents vetoed that idea. So I chose slide trombone. Soon I was pushing out terrible tones that sounded like a wounded elk caught in a snowstorm. Our music teacher deserved a medal, or maybe a pair of golden earplugs!

Yep, that’s me with my trombone in 1969. Before “affordable” color photography!

Learning that musical instrument was harder than I expected. Soon I was ready to quit. I announced this intention to my dad who said, “No way Jose.” Then he quoted Winston Churchill’s famous speech, “Never give up. Never. Never. Never.”

So back to band rehearsal I went, even though it sounded horrible. It was hard to learn to read the music, and it wasn’t fun.

But jump ahead 5 years and it was a ton of fun. I played in my high school’s excellent marching band. In addition, I was in the symphonic band under a wonderful director, Daniel Nawrocki. He led us to first place in state band competition all 4 years I was in Reynoldsburg High School.

Later at Moody Bible Institute I played in the concert band under the direction of Gerald Edmonds. On winter and spring breaks we toured the Eastern and Southern USA. We even toured California and played at Biola University where I later finished my undergraduate education and met Carolyn. One summer we flew to South America and toured Colombia.

Band turned out to be a fantastic experience! What started as an “impossible” mountain-sized goal turned into one of the most fulfilling and enjoyable experiences of my youth.

Over the years I’ve tackled other mountain-sized goals and each time found tremendous fulfillment, no matter how difficult it seemed.

Perhaps you’re considering a mountain-sized goal and wondering how it can be accomplished. Here are 8 steps to tackle a mountain-sized goal in faith:

01. Pray over it.

Mountain-sized goals often start with a burden, a concern or problem to solve.

Nehemiah found a mountain-sized goal when he heard that the city of Jerusalem was in disarray and unprotected. He was so concerned to hear this that he immediately “sat down and wept.” (Nehemiah 1:4 NLT)

But he didn’t just weep. He began to pray. The rest of the verse says, “In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.”

Continue reading Nehemiah 1 and you’ll see his recorded prayer.

The first job of a believer is to pray over a potential mountain-sized goal. Just because we have a vision doesn’t mean it is from God. Not every goal is a God Goal. Prayer is the first step toward determining if the goal is a God Goal, or just a nice thought.

02. Confirm it.

When we start to consider a mountain-sized goal we need to seek two kinds of confirmation:

01. Confirmation from God.

Nehemiah sought confirmation from God through his prayers.

The Apostle Paul sought the guidance of the Spirit as he traveled to spread the Gospel. He wrote “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:22-24 NIV)

As we see in this account, a mountain-sized goal doesn’t always mean comfort and ease. Yet although warned by the Spirit that he would suffer, Paul obeyed when he received confirmation of the mountain-sized goal.

02. Confirmation from others.

We should also seek confirmation from others. Confirmation for Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem and repair the wall came from an interesting source: his boss the king. Not only did he get permission to go, he received supplies and military protection from King Artaxerxes (see Nehemiah 2).

When tackling the trombone, I got confirmation and even direction from my parents. (“You will not play drums. You can play trombone.”)

Years ago when led to plant a church, we got confirmation and support from our association of churches and our local church. Not only did they confirm us, they commissioned us and helped us.

If you’re considering a mountain-sized goal, seek confirmation from others. If there is no confirmation, pull back. Perhaps the vision is for a later time. Wait until you have confirmation from God and others.

03. Write it.

When Habakkuk received a mountain-sized goal, God told him to write it: “And the LORD answered me: ‘Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.’” (Habakkuk 2:2 ESV)

Writing down our mountain-sized goal does several things:

• It clarifies our thinking and leading.

• It makes the vision clear to others.

• It unifies those who join the vision.

• It provides a way to know when we’ve eventually fulfilled the vision.

Each of these issues are vital. It’s no wonder God told Habakkuk to write the vision plainly.

04. Believe it.

Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.” (Mark 11:23 NLT)

The great thing about having a God-given mountain-sized goal is that we don’t have to be equal to the task. If it is His goal, then He is equal to the task. We just have to cooperate and believe that He will do it through us.

When I look at my abilities, I don’t see anything mountain-sized. But when I look to God, I can believe for a mountain-sized goal, because He’s such a great God! God is so powerful, it’s a no-brainer!

05. Commit to it.

You would think that if people have done the first 4 steps, then they would be committed to the goal. Yet I’ve seen people go through all 4 yet soon abandon their mountain-sized goal and head off in another direction.

This happens for various reasons:

• Slow progress.Discouragements from others.

• Doubting God’s calling.Finding “the next shiny object.”

Jesus spoke very unambiguously about lack of commitment to the Kingdom: “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62 NLT)

How’s that for a stern warning! The point: When God puts your hand to the plow, keep it there until the mountain-sized goal is achieved or God speaks very clearly to move in another direction.

Flitting from this to that is a sign of spiritual immaturity. Keeping your hand to the plow shows spiritual maturity.

06. Recruit to it. 

If you have a truly mountain-sized goal, you will need to recruit help to accomplish it. A mole hill sized goal won’t require assistance. But big goals demand partners.

Great Bible leaders were always recruiters:

• Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and soon recruited all the citizens in the work of rebuilding the wall.

• The Apostle Paul recruited many team members and never traveled alone.

• Moses led over a million people out of Egypt.David, even before receiving the throne of Israel, recruited and led a band of warriors.

• Jesus recruited and discipled the twelve, the 72 and others.

Leadership means recruitment to your mountain-sized goal.

07. Keep at it.

Someone said, “It takes 20 years to make an overnight success.”

Sure, a few become successful quickly. But that is rare. Most slug it out in the trenches for 20 years or so.

Recently I was reminded that it was 20 years from the time of David’s anointing to be king, until the actual coronation.

During those 20 years, life wasn’t always easy for David. In fact, it was downright difficult:

• He was nearly killed and had to run for his life.He was hunted like an animal by King Saul and his army.

• To keep from being killed, he fled to the enemies of his people.He had to virtually beg for food to feed his family and friends.

Yet he kept at it, leaning on the promise of God that one day the vision of being king would be fulfilled.

Much of success is just keeping at it. Thomas Edison said “Success is 10 percent inspiration and 90% perspiration.”

Likewise, tackling a mountain-sized goal is probably 10% glamor and 90% grit.

08. Wait for it.

Regarding His vision to Habakkuk, God said:

“If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,     for it will surely take place.     It will not be delayed.” (Habakkuk 2:3b NLT)

Not many people like waiting. Some are worse at waiting than others. But all must do it.

Scripture repeatedly says that we must “wait on the Lord” in passages like this:

“We wait for the LORD. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts find joy.” (Psalm 33:20-21a GW)

Why is waiting so important? Because:

• In waiting on the Lord and seeking Him, we come to know Him better.

• While waiting, we have a chance to mature into the person we need to be for the goal we’re seeking.

So wait on your mountain-sized goal and in your waiting remember this promise: “Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the LORD will be renewed. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and won’t become weary. They will walk and won’t grow tired.” (Isaiah 40:31 GW)

In 1981 Carolyn and I began full-time church planting ministry. Far from an overnight success, it was difficult. We experienced opposition right from the start. I worked very long hours. For months and years, we hung in there, even when there seemed to be minimal progress. We were no overnight success!

Yet eventually, as we just kept at it, we saw the church grow, become established and mature. We were able to own a church property, hire staff and plant other churches.

Later we left to lead another church plant. In 1998 I became a full-time missionary and mentor. In 2010 my alma mater Moody Bible Institute made me “Alumnus of the Year.”

What a contrast to the early days when I felt like an utter failure. God was so good and so faithful!

May He give you great success as you follow these 8 steps and tackle your mountain-sized goal in faith!

For more help in finding and accomplishing your mountain-sized goals, check out these articles I’ve written:

• Setting Goals and Solving Problems

• 4 Easy Steps to Set Goals and Become Far More Productive

• How a Life Vision Helps You Reduce Stress and Accomplish More

• What is the Meaning of Life?Who Needs a Vision Retreat?

• 5 Simple Techniques to Become an Extraordinary Achiever

• 4 Steps to Identify Core Values and Make the Best Decisions

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

Are You Cocky Or Confident?

How to See Your Abilities from God's Perspective

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While in seminary I confess to having an overinflated evaluation of my abilities. Between college and seminary, I had traveled for a year with Josh McDowell. Josh had spoken to more college students than anyone else, was a best-selling author and was a bit of a celebrity. Just to be connected with him seemed very special.

So at Talbot Seminary, a guy writing for the student newspaper asked to interview me about my time interning with Josh. That was nice, but what happened in the interview wasn’t.

It seemed that whatever I said told the interviewer that I had an over-inflated ego. Apparently I sounded like I thought I was going to be the next Josh McDowell or Billy Graham.

I forget his exact words, but at the end of the interview he said something to the effect that I had a problem with thinking too highly of myself. It was even worse than that. In essence he said I was being a jerk.

Was he right? Probably so.

Since then I’ve pondered the difference between being confident and being cocky. Certainly confidence is important, especially when we are confident in the Lord.

But when does confidence become cockiness?

A verse that has helped with this is Romans 12:3b which says “I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” (NLT)

This verse is a great guide for avoiding being under or over confident by looking at our abilities in 3 ways:

01. A warning against over-inflating our self-evaluation.

The verse says clearly “Don’t think you are better than you really are.”

That’s where I was at the time of that interview. It’s embarrassing, but I think it is true. I seemed to feel that just being connected with someone great made me great. Not true.

The Bible has many warnings about pride. I’ve written about what the Bible says about pride in an article you can read HERE.

It also has a lot of teaching about humility. I’ve written about what the Bible says about humility in an article you can read HERE.

02. A warning against under-inflating our self-evaluation.

The verse continues “Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves.”

Other versions say “think soberly” (KJV) or think with “sound judgment” (NAS).

The idea is that we must be realistic about our abilities.

There’s a lot to be said for having confidence that we can achieve great dreams. Of course, many have written about this in books such as The Magic of Thinking Big and The Power of Positive Thinking. 

I wrote about the importance of confidence from a Biblical perspective in articles you can read HERE and HERE.

03. An encouragement to evaluate our abilities on a spiritual level.

The verse ends with the challenge to be “measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”

What does that mean? It confused me for a while. But I’ve come to believe that it means we must evaluate our spiritual abilities in tandem with our natural abilities:

• I might be naturally gifted at something. But beyond my abilities, what confidence do I have that I am pleasing God and therefore that He is with me in my endeavor?

• I might think I have developed skills that enable me to do things, but am I trusting God to work BEYOND my abilities?

• I might believe that I have weaknesses, but what faith do I have that God can overcome them to achieve great visions?

• I might believe that I can do something utilizing my abilities, but what faith do I have that with Him, I can do so much more?

I think you get the idea.

In summary, here is how God wants us to evaluate our abilities:

• Not too highly.

• Not too lowly.

• Not in isolation of God’s working through us.

Stated positively, here is how God wants us to evaluate our abilities:

• With humility.

• With confidence.

• With faith.

What a wonderfully balanced perspective.

One of my favorite books as a child was “The Little Engine That Could.” Perhaps you recall that the key line was “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”

Utilizing that mantra helped the little engine climb to the top of the mountain.

It’s a great lesson, especially if we make one adjustment. God wants us to take the idea a step higher and intersperse “I think I can” with the words “Through Christ I can!”

“I think I can, through Christ I can.”

“I think I can, through Christ I can.”

“I think I can, through Christ I can.”

Now that’s a powerful combination!

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)

For more help, here are other articles I’ve written on related topics:

• How to Survive Rejection and Find Acceptance Today

• How Reluctant Leaders Become Confident Achievers for God

• Having Just One Person to Please Brings Peace

• How to Find Confidence in a Critical World and Stay Humble

• 6 Strategies to Handle Insults Without Becoming a Doormat

• You Can Do It!How to be Big in God’s Kingdom When You Feel Small

• How to Avoid Comparison in a World Filled with It

• Video: Have You Been Pecked At?