Inadequacies, Insecurities, And Infirmities

Bienhome Muivah *

What in your life causes you to fear? Losing your job? Having your marriage deteriorated? Seeing your secret sins exposed? Having an accident? Dying? Trying to work through a personal problem without understanding what causes the problem is like, trying to mop up water from an overflowing sink without turning off the faucet.

In the medical profession, most prescription (medication) is palliative, not curative-it stops the pain but generally does not deal with the source of the pain. For example, a person with an abscessed tooth can buy a prescription to stop the terrible pain, but in order to end the problem the doctor must repair or eliminate the offending tooth.

Dealing with symptoms of personal problems or personal pain is critical and essential, but we must identify the underlying sources before we can achieve a long term solution. But we can show and understand that many of our fears can be traced back to three aspects of our fallen nature: inadequacies, insecurities, and infirmities.

Inadequacies Are A Primary Source Of Fear

At times, religious broadcasts and financial success seminars gives us the impression that we have no limitations, that all we have to do is hit the delete button on the word "inadequate" and we can leap tall buildings with a single bound. Inadequacy, in brief, is the predicament of having less than what is required. To be inadequate is to weigh our resources, abilities, and accomplishments against the requirements and to come up short. Nothing is so intimidating as to face a specific problem and become keenly aware of an absolute inadequacy to solve it. This, of course, tends only to magnify the problem and extend the suffering.

Moses is a good Biblical example of a person who felt inadequate because of his personal limitation among others. When God was ready to send him to challenge Pharaoh and lead His people out of Egypt, He already knew that Moses would feel inadequate; after all, even though he spent the previous years of his life in Pharaoh's palace, for the past 40 years Moses had been tending sheep in the desert, not a good place to improve public speaking and leadership skills.

He had almost forgotten the Egyptian dialect; he no longer knew anyone in the palace, and he had not been very popular with his own people, the Jews when he did live in Egypt. God knew that it would take something spectacular to get Moses' focus off his own inadequacy and onto His omnipotence. So on the "far side of the desert" God got Moses' attention by speaking to him from a bush that was on fire but was not being consumed (Exodus 3 and 4).

Even though God performed more miraculous signs, revealing His own power and the divine resources which Moses would have at his disposal, Moses was still afraid. He reviewed his own resources, weighed them against what was expected of him, and decided that he was terribly inadequate. He said to God, "who am I" to do such thing? "What if they do not believe me?" I am slow of speech and tongue, please send someone else (Exodus 3:11; 4:1,10,13)

What are some of the things that magnify a sense of inadequacy in us and provoke fear?

Two major concerns are:
1) The expectations of others and
2) The expectations we have of ourselves.

The expectations of others magnify our inadequacies. We emulate Moses when weigh our resources against the expectations of others. We never seem to have enough time, money, or energy to keep up with the demands of life. Important deadlines to pay up debts, family pressure, peer pressure and a host of problems to face in life sometimes, you will burst out of proportion and might exclaim: It's beyond me, Lord. It's not that I seem inadequate; I am inadequate.

Now back to Moses. After a lot of persuasion and with God's help and the help of his brother Aaron, Moses eventually led the Jews out of Egypt. But that was not the end of Moses' challenges. Only a few days out of Egypt, after seeing the mighty Egyptian army and their horses drown in the Red Sea, Moses faced his next dilemma. Here he was, wandering around the desert, responsible for the well-being of 3 million thirsty people and no water. Finally, they came across a brackish well at Marah. As the people blasted Moses with grumbling, God once again showed that even though Moses' power was limited, God's was not. He showed Moses a piece of wood to throw into the bitter well.

When Moses acted on God's command, an act which required child-like faith, the water became sweet. An entire nation witnessed the immutable reality that God can go far beyond our own inadequacies and resources in order to meet our needs. The source of so much fear, our real and perceived inadequacies, are an invitation to cultivate a greater faith, trust and hope in God's ability to make up the difference.

Concern for personal needs magnifies our inadequacies. God is not limited by my meager bank account or a bad month in retail sales. He does not depend on my paycheck (though He generally used such normal means to provide for my needs) any more than He was limited by a desert without sufficient drinking water. Paul assured the believers at Philippi, "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).

Don't let inadequacies hinder you from serving Him, for He is great God who can perform miracles in your life.

Just Trust Him!