Archive for month: June 2016

The other day I was listening to a leadership podcast interviewing Pastor Steven Furick on his new book Unqualified. Listening to him talk, reminded me of so many times over the years where I have felt unqualified.  Unqualified to be a nurse, to be a mom, a wife, a Christian.  These feelings held me back from doing what God was calling me to do.  I felt like I needed to have it all together, key word felt, before I started.  It’s like before you have children you say to your spouse I want to wait until it’s just right, we need to have everything in order.  Well, guess what, that rarely happens!  And guess what, God is in the business of taking our imperfections, those things we feel unqualified to do, and giving us the strength and ability to do them in His name.  Even though God has removed much of these thoughts and feelings, I still to this day think to myself, who am I to be leading a group, who am I to share the gospel, who am I to lead a ministry, who am I to become a deacon, who am I to write this blog?

What does qualified mean, anyway?  It means to be officially recognized as being trained to perform a particular job; certified, competent or knowledgeable to do something; capable, entitled to a particular benefit or privilege by fulfilling a necessary condition, officially recognize or establish (someone) as a practitioner of a particular profession or activity.  In other words qualified means you are EMPOWERED, AUTHORIZED, COMPETENT, PROFICIENT, SKILLED AND TESTED!!!!

We are not qualified on our own, but God himself qualifies us!  Which means he empowers us, authorizes us, makes us competent and proficient, provides the skill needed and tests us in order to qualify us for His kingdom work.

2 Corinthians 3New Living Translation (NLT)

3 Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not! 2 The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our[a] hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. 3 Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

4 We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. 5 It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

I pray this blog post encourages you and inspires you to step out in faith with God in those areas of your life which you feel unqualified in.  Like I noted above, it is easy, with all the pressures of culture, to fall into thinking you are not enough!  And guess what, none of us are enough otherwise God would not have needed to send His son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for you and me.  Separate from the love of God and being in relationship with Him, we are not enough, we are not qualified.  Praise God, through the power of Jesus Christ, we are all invited to go from being unqualified to QUALIFIED!!