Inadequate

Ever get that feeling? You're rolling along and then for just a split second you lift your head and look around. It hits you like a ton of bricks. "I can't do this! What was I thinking? How the heck did I end up here and more importantly, how am I going to get out?"

It happens to all of us from time to time - face it, we're humans. We like to think that we can just walk boldly along and handle whatever comes our way, but inside, down deep, where nobody ever sees, we are scared to death. What can we do? How can we get over it all?

Like any other problem we have, the first step is admitting it. We were not designed to have all of the answers or to be able to handle the load that we often end up trying to carry. Sometimes that load is given to us, but often we let our pride and lack of common sense dig us a hole we can't begin to climb out of. We need to admit that we can't do everything on our own. We have someone we can go to for help. God is there for us. he has the power we need to do what we cannot do on our own. That power could show itself in many ways, but the key is we need to yield our control to access the power.

The second step is claiming it. It would make no sense to not accept what you need when it is right there for the taking. God has given us His Holy Spirit to give us what we need to accomplish the tasks God has given us. We often try to do things on our own, even though God is right there wanting to help. We might, if we are lucky, be able to pull off something that those around us would consider a victory, but it will not come easily, and there will be pain, scars, and a lot of wasted time.

I know from my own life that when I have tried to do things on my own I have felt all along that I was a phony. I went through the motions because I knew how to "pull it off". A lot of people were convinced that I was doing things the right way, but they couldn't see the problems I was dealing with on the inside. It wasn't until I realized that I was living a lie that things started to turn around.

I finally understood that I needed to let God take the control. I had always been afraid that He would make me do things I didn't want to do, and sometimes He does! The neat thing is that by yielding that control and allowing myself to be used I am enjoying those things now. It is still scary at times, but now when I look up and see where I am and what I am doing, the feeling is different. I'm still amazed and at times a little scared, but I know Who is in control, and that takes a big bite out of the fear that I have.

As John the Baptist said in John 3:30 - "He must increase, but I must decrease." That is the way it has to be. It is the only way that I can feel adequate, capable of handling the life God has given me.