Marc Estes

I love the title of the article already! Sounds like a line in a rap song? Maybe not, but it does sound liberating, promising, enticing; but is it even possible? For those that have lived a life under the cloud of inferiority, it sounds like another one of those, ‘too good to be true’ offer. If you are already drawn in to this distant possibility, if you are honest with yourself and need a breakthrough, this word is for you today.

 

To begin, relax…you are not alone in this struggle. Many Christians today suffer from the same nagging problem. It is one of the enemies most popular, age-old tricks of making us feel like we are less than we are. He knows that if he can get your eyes off of who you really are, you will never be able to accomplish all you were intended to do. It is in this process that we make to critical errors.

 

The first mistake we make is looking at others around us as the mearsuring rod for our own lives. In the purest sense this is not a bad thing as it is inbred into us to look for those that we respect and try to emulate their great Christ-like character qualities. The apostle Paul even encourage us in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” However, there is a fine line between looking up to someone and wishing to be someone. This is one mistake that can cause years of insecurity and confusion. Settle it now, you were never intended to be anyone else but you! Be excited you are you! Don’t try to be someone else and sell yourself short. Learn from those around you and apply important life principles to your life, but don’t try to become them.

 

The second mistake made is that we look at our own weaknesses, mistakes and shortcomings. We convince ourselves that we are not good enough for the plans God has for our lives. None of us will ever measure up to God’s perfect standard, so relax! That is where Christ comes in…phew! Don’t get me wrong, I am always looking at ways to improve myself, but I am not going to beat myself up in the process. The deeper issue is that it is not me that is going to do great things for God anyways, but He who lives in me. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me.” My strength is not in me, but in Him, in me. I am a high school drop out, and realized early on in my Christian walk, “without Him, I CAN DO NOTHING.” It is apparent that my only hope of ever doing anything significant would be found in the one that has made me significant.

 

Moses made this same mistake repeatedly. I can just hear his arguments with the Lord in his early days of ministry, “I’m not a good speaker… I’m clumsy with my words… you’ve got the wrong guy… get someone else!” His focus was on his weaknesses and not God’s strengths. Thankfully, God replies to his statements of inferiority with a simple,  yet riveting statement that should jolt us all towards breaking free from inferiority, “‘Who makes mouths? Who makes people so they can speak or not speak, hear or not hear, see or not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, and do as I have told you. I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say.”

 

“Yes sir!” Moses received his wake up call and the rest was history. My encouragement for you today is to let this simple thought for the day be your wake up call. Like Moses, and like me, you will never overcome your inferiority by focusing on others or yourself. Focus on the God that made you, the God who saved you and filled you, and the One who has positioned you for greatness. In doing so, you will be free just being you. Make your aim today, break free from inferioirity!