Letting God Be Enough: Why Striving Keeps You Stuck & How Surrender Sets You FreeSample

My printer died last week. Spit out its last piece of paper and went kaput. After a mad dash to Costco to get a new one, I came home to attempt the installation. The last time I bought a printer it came with a disc to insert into my laptop which magically told my computer what to do. My current laptop no longer had a disc drive and my new printer didn’t come with an installation disc. Instead, it came with a URL to download a 97-page PDF with step-by-step instructions on how to link my new printer to my computer. I turned the computer off and waited for my husband to come home. I was not even going to try. 

Installing a printer hardly changes the landscape of our lives in drastic ways, but I’ve taken this approach in other areas of my life also. When I thought I knew how to do something but then the game plan changed, I chucked the playbook and gave up. I did not want to do it in a new way, but our God is in the business of doing new things, which also means He does things in new ways. 

What was God’s plan in Exodus 3? It was time for the enslaved Hebrews to leave Egypt. Who would lead them? Moses was not enthusiastic about God’s choice, which felt to him as user-friendly as navigating a 97-page downloadable PDF. Sometimes, having the instructions is not enough. We need further assurance to overcome our fear of inadequacy. I love what God does for Moses in this moment in Exodus 3:17-21:

“I promise…”

“I will bring you up…”

“I know that the King of Egypt will not let you go…”

“I will stretch out my hand…”

“I will give this people favor…”

Essentially, God becomes that magical installation disc that does all the work. Moses just has to install it. He doesn’t have to pull up the PDF and read steps one, two, three, three hundred. When we wrestle with deep fears of inadequacy, knowing how to do something doesn’t always prove that comforting. We still wonder if we are able to pull it off. Maybe the knowledge exists, but the skill set to take the knowledge and apply it remains questionable. Or we undeniably assert our inability to accomplish it, regardless of knowing the action plan. 

Sometimes we just turn off the computer and walk away without even making an attempt. When God hands us an assignment that feels like a 97–page PDF and we want to walk away, we need to remember His limitless power over our lack. He will make good on His promises and be good on our behalf. 

Question:

How does a proper perspective of God diminish our fear of inadequacy?

Personal Prayer:

Dear Jesus, forgive me when I view You as less than all that You are. Help me to believe in the greatness of your capabilities and the goodness of your character.