Article By Tanya Stanton // Empowering Everyday Women // Spiritual

I started my new job and was a nervous wreck. I was qualified for the position, even though I knew there would be a bit of a learning curve. I was sure God had opened the door for me to walk into my blessing. So why was my stomach in knots?

Honestly, I was feeling intimidated by the size of the opportunity. It was a big pay increase and I wondered if I really deserved it. Thinking negative thoughts and dwelling on the worst possibilities left me in a slump.

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I convinced myself that others would see what an absolute fraud I was. By the time I walked into my office, I was feeling anxious, upset and nauseous. I was seriously contemplating turning in my letter of resignation to save myself the embarrassment of being fired. I had beaten myself down mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

When I sat down at my new computer, I went into my inbox to check my emails. I instinctively smiled when I noticed a brand new message from my closest friend, Holly. She had sent me a devotion to read, which she always does.

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On this particular morning, the devotion was about Gideon (Judges 6) and his fear of fighting against the Midianites who were terrible bullies and arch rivals of Israel. Even though God had chosen Gideon to lead his people to victory over their adversaries, he felt inadequate.

In verse 15 Gideon said, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

Have you ever felt like you were the weakest link and the least qualified? Those kinds of thoughts increase fear and reduce confidence, which is what happened with Gideon—and me that day. But in the Bible story, the Lord ministered to this scary warrior, showed him signs and convinced him that he was the mighty man of valor God called him to be. Gideon eventually led the Israelites to victory. He had tortured and stressed himself out for nothing. I was starting to wonder if Gideon and I were blood-related! We thought an awful lot alike.

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When I finished reading the devotion, I felt better and suddenly the shadows of fear surrounding me didn’t seem so terrifying. I knew I was prepared to take on this role. That was several years back and God graced me to excel at that job, which led me to other even more amazing opportunities. I was promoted within the company on the three separate occasions. God gave me success beyond my wildest expectations!

He wants to give you success as well, but before He can do that, you must believe you are indeed equipped to fulfill whatever assignment God has allowed to be presented to you. If you’re feeling nervous, worried and inadequate, you’re in the right place today.

Do these 4 things:

#1 Pray. Let this always be your first line of defense against fear, worry and intimidation. Tell God about your feelings and concerns. There’s no use in hiding because He knows anyway. Admit that you are struggling with feelings of inadequacy and ask Him to comfort you with His presence. He will respond, and in His presence you will find the hope, joy, strength, encouragement and the abundant grace you need to keep going.

#2 Repent. Whoever God chooses, He also equips for the task. Ask forgiveness for doubting His choice. To question your own readiness is to question His sovereignty, wisdom and purpose. Does God know what He’s doing or not? Of course He does! The Lord never makes mistakes and He certainly didn’t begin making blunders with you.

#3 Shift your focus to trusting God. Usually, when we start fretting over what we have to accomplish, it’s because we are focusing on our own inadequacy and inability to perform a task. But our sufficiency is in Christ. It is not our power that gets the job done; it is the power of God working through us. When you shift your focus to trusting our invincible God and not yourself, your confidence will skyrocket!

#4 Feast on God’s word. Naturally speaking, when you are hungry, you are weaker. You run out of steam quickly because your body doesn’t have enough fuel. Spiritually speaking, the same is true. When your spirit is undernourished, you grow too weak to fulfill your divine assignment. Your faith takes a beating. But the word of God build, empowers, equips and invigorates your soul, so feast on it—and not just in times of weakness. Do this every day and you’ll grow consistently stronger in your belief.

The next time you feel intimidated, remember the confidence David had when he fought the intimidating giant Goliath. In 1 Samuel 17:45, he said, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord.”

And he slew the giant!

You will slay giants in your own life when you lean on and trust in the mightiest warrior of all. Girl, you can do it, because God has He equipped you to do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13).

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