Unqualified?

READ: EXODUS 3:1–4:17; EPHESIANS 2:8-10; HEBREWS 11:23-29

Do you ever feel unqualified for something God has called you to do? Moses felt unqualified too. In the book of Exodus, God appears to Moses in a burning bush. He calls Moses to lead His people, the Israelites, out of slavery in Egypt. But Moses says, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11). God responds, “I will be with you” (verse 12). Then Moses asks what he should tell the Israelites God’s name is, and God replies out of the burning bush, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (verse 14). Did you catch that? Moses says, “Who am I?” And God says, “I AM.” Moses is focusing on himself, but God wants Moses to look at Him.

Yet Moses continues to be hesitant about his qualifications. He doubts his own abilities more than he trusts God’s abilities. But God knows Moses doesn’t need a laundry list of talents and accomplishments. All he needs is faith in the great I AM.

Like Moses, we don’t have to have a ton of qualifications for God to call us. All we need is faith. And faith is a gift God is eager to give us (Ephesians 2:8-10). He is the One who qualifies us, equips us, and works through us for good. God may not speak to us out of a burning bush, but when Jesus came and lived among us, He revealed that He is God, the eternal “I am” (John 8:58). Though our sin separated us from Him, Jesus bridged the gap between us and God by dying on the cross for our sins and rising from the grave. So now we can be in close relationship with God, and we can talk to Him anytime we want.

Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can know God has given us the Holy Spirit, who works in and through us. Whenever we experience fear or anxiety about being unqualified, we can go to God with our fears and trust in His abilities as we continue to grow in Him. • Elizabeth Cooper

• Have you ever felt unqualified for something God called you to do? Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can know that He is always with us, and His Spirit is in us (Matthew 28:20; John 14:17). How can these truths embolden us to do the things God calls us to do?

• There are certain things God calls all Christians to do, such as loving our neighbors and using the spiritual gifts He has given us to serve others (Matthew 22:37-39; 1 Peter 4:10). When you think God might be calling you to do something in particular, who are trusted Christians in your life who can help you discern God’s guidance and dig into His Word?

For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:13 (NIV)