Face your giants with confidence.

“Our culture tends to spotlight the polished and poised but sometimes God likes to turn those expectations and use a vessel not so obvious.“

– Our Daily Bread

December 2009, the 18th Thanksgiving Anniversary of the El Shaddai Community in Cebu Chapter, was the first anniversary I attended as official part of the Gospel Choir. It has been traditioned to choose a worship leader to lead the praise and worship every anniversary and last year, December 2019 the 28th Thanksgiving Anniversary, I was chosen to be the worship leader.

When I first found out about it, I felt a lot of emotions. Happy and excited because wow! Finally after 10 years, I am doing it! I am going to lead His flock to worship Him. But more than that I was so scared. Can I really do it? Am I capable enough to lead His people into worshipping Him?

To give you a background, I am not a great singer. I can sing but I am not good at it. Most of the time, I cannot hit the right note and usually out of tune. I was really scared for what if instead of honor, I would bring disgrace to God’s name? What if instead of becoming an instrument of God’s blessing I would be the source of distraction?

Truly, when God speaks to you about your potential, He will also confront your greatest fears, battle your insecurities and challenge your weaknesses.

When God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt he reasoned out to God his incapabilities,

“Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent,…… I am slow of speech and tongue.” Exodus 4:10

Like Moses and me, at some point in your life you have surely questioned your abilities esp. when you are face with an assignment that does not match your natural capabilities. Fortunately though, God likes to give an assignment that always seem greater than us not to lead us into failure but to display His great power.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2Cor.12:9

You see, when God gives you something big He will give you the right resources, He will equip you and dispatch His assistance that you will need to accomplish the task He has given you. God will overshadow all your shortcomings and give you the victory if you allow Him to lead you.

Letting God lead you means lifting up your fears and weaknesses and surrendering your insecurities to Him. It means, humbling yourself before Him and acknowledging that nothing, no matter how intimidating, is too scary for God.

I didn’t know how my insecurities indicate my lack of trust on God. I was so insecure about myself that I doubted God’s preferences. Who was I to question God for choosing me? I was so insecure about the things I could not do. What I didn’t know that my insecurities were actually equal to limiting what God can do. I was putting up walls and drawing boundaries to what God is capable of doing through me.

Similarly, sometimes you got caught with how unqualified you are for the new opportunity given to you and use this as an excuse to turn your back from it. But God is teaching us that it is never about what we don’t have; the right qualifications; the ability; the knowledge and the skill, instead it is more about how we use what we have.

Time and time again, God has been working through imperfect vessels to accomplish His greater glory. One of the most famous stories of an imperfect vessel used by God is King David. When King David volunteered himself to fight against Goliath he was told,

“You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him, you are only a young man and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 1Samuel 17:33

But we know how the story ended,

“David, triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, without the sword in his hand, he struck down the Philistine and killed him.” 1Samuel 17:50

The story of King David defeating Goliath using only a sling and a stone is a manifestation that what we have is exactly what we need to be victorious in whatever endeavour laid upon us. Whether you only got 50% over the 100% competency needed for the job, do not let it frighten you. Bring it over to God and let Him make up for the difference.

I am not a good singer but I can sing. I offered what I have, no matter how little it may seem and God took care of the rest. At the end of the anniversary that night, someone told me, “you are truly blessed.” I smiled at him and said, “praise the Lord!”

Pastor Steven Furtick once said, “If you feel like you can’t do it, the best way to overcome it is to do it. As you do it you will receive the strength to complete the assignment.”

So whenever you feel you are not the best candidate or that you lack the ability to perform the task given to you, when you feel burdened for an assignment you’re not prepared for or when you don’t feel comfortable in your new responsibility, remember to depend and rest in God’s power.

If God gives you something that you know you wouldn’t be able to do, it only mean one thing, He wants you to exceed the standards, the world has set for you.

“Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." 1Cor. 1:26-29