You Are Up to the Task Whether You Feel Like It or Not by SermonCentral

Deep in the heart of every man I’ve ever met lurks a daunting question that casts a shadow over every major challenge we ever face: Am I up to this?

When I went to take the test for my driver’s license… When I enrolled in college… When I bought the ring to propose… When my babies came along… Am I up to this? Or am I destined for failure? Since I’m probably not up to this, maybe I should go ahead and sabotage it.

Such are the thoughts that, at least subconsciously, go through the heads of us men as we make decisions in life. I’m sure women struggle with it too, but I’m speaking out of my own experience here. Some men sabotage by shirking responsibility and self-medicating through addictive behavior – drugs, alcohol, porn, gaming, etc. Others just go numb, becoming “yes” men to the tyranny of mediocrity.

For some who have already made the tragic choice of shutting down and checking out, this is a call to repentance and revival. For those still wrestling with the decision, it’s a call to arms.

As I coach ministry leaders, I hear it in their voices too. I started planting this church… I’ve stepped into a church needing to transition… We’ve launched a capital campaign… Am I up to this?

Yep. You are.

Before you think I’m going all positive-thinking on you, know that I agree with the Scriptures which declare that “in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing.” (Romans 7:18) Apart from the One who is the Vine, I’m a dying branch. (John 15) Without him, I am nothing. But with him and through him and because of him, everything is different.

Let me just drop a few reasons why you are, indeed up to the tasks God has set before you to accomplish.

You Were MADE for This

By virtue of the Designer’s intention, we’ve been born into this world possessing what we need as humans to cope with a human world. God wired us for the challenges of life. And while we universally rebel and retreat into sin, we’re still designed to be adequate for the tasks of life. You were fearfully and wonderfully made. You were selected, from the womb, for all of the assignments God has in store for you.

You Were Re-made for This

If you’ve placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you’ve been born again, made right, freed forever from condemnation, spared from God’s wrath, and totally re-created as a masterpiece that puts on display the powerful, fruitful grace of God. You were broken, headed in the wrong direction, and destined for eternity apart from God. Now, you’re on the right track. Your nature has been transformed. You were born again for the mission ahead.

You’ve Been Equipped for This

God has gifted you. You have natural talents as well as Spirit-wrought abilities. It’s not that you’re superhuman. It’s that you’re a human in the hands of a supernatural. God. To deny your giftings is to doubt the Giver of the gifts.

You Have People

You don’t have to do this alone. God made you for people, and he made a people for you. He calls them the church – an assembly of fellow called out ones who are pursuing the big mission and the love mandate with you. They can help you carry your burdens, offer you accountability and encouragement, and make up for your weaknesses and shortcomings. Maybe you’ve been let down by them in the past, but don’t give up. These are the people, imperfect as they may be, who are made to compliment an imperfect you!

You Are Well Resourced

Get this. God has already given you every single resource you will ever have need of on a spiritual, heavenly basis. Just read Paul’s lengthy sentence in Ephesians 1:3-14 and you’ll see the truth repeated that God has blessed us with everything we need and taken care of every resource issue. Further, he has repeatedly assured us that he knows the needs of his children and always comes through to provide for everything that is his will.

God Doesn’t Quit

And finally, God isn’t a quitter. What he starts, he finishes. Paul said, “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6 NLT)

If God has called you to it, he will carry you through it!

I’m convinced that the modern evangelical church suffers from a shortage of courageous, confident leaders. We’ve so emphasized humility that we’ve mistaken confidence for pride. But as God’s children, we get to revel in the fact that our big, powerful heavenly Father is always working in us, around us, and through us to accomplish his mind-boggling will for history. And if he is for us, who can possibly be against us?

When you remain dependent and surrendered, you remain an unstoppable force for the gospel and for good in this world.

Yes, you’ve got this!