When You Feel Inadequate

by Ann Spangler

I’ve been writing books for many years. Despite what you might think, it doesn’t get any easier as time goes on. What hampers me most is my lack of faith. Face-to-face with a blank computer screen, I have a mini crisis of faith each morning, certain that I haven’t got a thing to say that’s worth reading. I’ll send e-mails, make phone calls, walk the dog, pay bills, eat a banana—anything as long as I don’t have to start writing. Finally, when I can’t dodge it anymore, I’ll open up the latest file, see where I left off, and ask God to help me. After a while, the writing usually begins to flow.

For most of us, life is full of such miniature faith crises. We doubt we can do what God has called us to do—to show patience to our children, understanding to our husbands, skill in our work, wisdom in times of trouble. And we’re right. We don’t have enough of what we need. So we stall and make excuses and try to dodge our responsibility, which only increases our anxiety.

To be human is to be inadequate. It is to be limited. It is to be weak in many respects. When we look at our deficiencies, there’s ample cause for concern. But instead of training our eyes on our weakness, we need to train our eyes on God’s strength and on his promises to love and provide. So today, as always, we come before his throne, asking him to fill our emptiness with his fullness and to trade our weakness for his power. Today we take a small step of faith so God can give us his strength.