Confidence In Christ: A Devotional For Teen Girls

Trust

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

This seems to be a lesson that God is trying to teach me right now, as the concept behind this verse appeared in a Christian nonfiction book that I was reading last night, as well as the sermon that I listened to in church today. Both places emphasized something that I tend to have a bit of a rough time doing.

Trusting God even when He's calling you to do something that doesn't make sense in the flesh.

Sometimes, God calls us to things that we may have never pictured, prompting us to lead in a way that we feel less than equipped to do. By this, I don't mean things that we would hate doing. I believe that along with a particular calling, God will also place in us a desire to fulfill that calling. Nonetheless, we may sometimes doubt if we can really succeed at the task that we feel God has given us. When God stretches us beyond what we feel we can handle, it's easy to start making excuses and questioning it in our minds

I'm not qualified.

I'm too young.

What if I fail?

Lately I've been battling these types of thoughts in my own life as I feel led to take a leap of faith in the way that I believe God is calling me. If you're anything like me, you've probably battled similar thoughts of incompetency in your own life.

The good thing is, we're not alone and we're certainly not the first to question God's calling for our lives.

Moses felt inadequate in speech and eloquence when God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

Jonah obviously felt afraid when God called him to go to Nineveh and preach, as his first instinct was to run.

It seems that God often uses people who feel unqualified or incapable. "Why is that?" you may ask. After all, God could call anyone. Why would He choose the unlikely?

Perhaps He does so on purpose.

Maybe He calls the unlikely so that we rely on Him, and so that His power is made evident through us.

Maybe He wants us to be in a place where we're humble enough to rely on His wisdom and not our own.

Maybe His power is made the most clear when our callings seem illogical according to human reasoning.

You may feel inadequate by your own power, but as Philippians 4:13 states, "I can do all this through him who gives me strength." I believe that whatever God is calling you to do, He'll walk with you every step of the way.

If you feel unqualified about God's calling, know that you're not alone. We all have moments when we wonder if we have the strength to follow through with the way that God is leading us. However, I believe that if we trust God and follow His will, He'll lead us on the right paths in our lives and make a way when it seems there isn't one.

We just have to keep following God's calling, allowing Him lead us, guide, us, and direct our path.

Discussion Question - What area of your life do you feel you need to trust God with right now? How has He lead you in through s the past?