What do you do?

What do you do when you don’t believe in yourself? The Lord kept asking me, “What’s wrong?” I made a list (lol) and the one that stuck out the most to me, in reference the vision and purposes He has shown me in my life and future, is that I don’t think I believe in myself. 😕

I don’t know if I am capable.

There's really only one way to find out what you are capable of and that's to bump up against the limit of your capabilities. So you'll find the courage to try and fail (wisely, this is not an approach recommended for skydiving, lion taming, or wilderness suvivalist endeavors) or you'll just not even bother trying and consider yourself incapable when really you are just untested. And when you need to learn some skills to enhance your capabilities find someone who is good at what you want to be good at and ask them how they became good at it.

Ben, let me ask you one question. Did god purposely choose you and give you His Spirit? If you can say yes to that, then you are God's anointed. Don't you dare speak against God's anointed. This is God's work.

I look at my life as a bunch of failures especially when in God's service. He did have me working in a mission doing drug rehab, but quickly pulled that away from me. I got on disability and started a computer business which failed in bankruptcy costing me my house and a commercial building.

We moved to Oklahoma to be closer to our grand kids and then my wife divorced me. Today, I live from one disability check to another and I don't own much of anything. I suffer extreme arthritis pain and digestive and pulmonary disorders. I lived in a nursing home for a year getting my knee joints replaced. Now, I live with my youngest son that I don't get along with much. Does all that look like failure to you, Ben.

Since getting out of the nursing home, I have written and got two books published on our Christian walk. I now have a website offering free the first book which has timed out with the publisher. I also have articles and Bible studies there that have helped many. I feel God using me again after 30 years of spiritual stagnation dealing with my extended family. We cannot walk by sight, but by faith that God know what He is doing no matter how it looks. I just want to encourage you to keep trusting God.

You make it seem so simple and yet it is a wise answer (I also enjoyed your humor). Thanks Cinder. 🙂

Thank you for the spiritual slap 👋. 😅

It is His work, thanks for the reminder.

I'm a failure at many things but I keep going! Did you know I got my masters degree and Im now back in primary school....still learning along with the children...! Me and God have a laugh about that.

Children these days know a lot more than I do in certain areas. But I believe they can do great things for God even when they are young.

I have these toy sheep in the library right. I tell the children 'look after the sheep'. some asked me what do they eat? I look around and dont see any grass in the library, we only have blue and beige carpets, not a green one.. So I might need to find some astoturf..

What should be done is usually a whole lot simpler than doing it. But I find myself in a similar situation in one area of my life where I really have to debate if I'm willing to risk facing the truth and my own areas of inadequacy or if I'd rather cling to the comfort of the story I've been telling myself without much evidence that it's a true story. Knowing what the choices are is a whole lot easier than making the choice.

Seems Moses didn't believe in himself either.

It wasn't just Moses. With all the great pillars of faith in our scriptures, we are shown some of their weak moments. Abraham grew fearful and passed Sarah off twice as his sister. What is fear? Is it not a moment of unfaithfulness? What about Jacob when he came home, was he not afraid of Esau?

Even Elijah became despondent and depressed (see 1 Kings 19:4). Then the Lord told him to pick himself up and go about his business. Nobody can ride the mountaintop of faithfulness all the time. Let us not be too hard on ourselves. The ups and downs, of life, affect us all.

Echoing what Sub said -- I might be wrong, but I can't recall a single incidence (Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah, David, etc.) where God told someone, "Just believe in yourself. "

Rather, He told everyone He ever called, "Believe in ME." (Gen 15:1 -- "Do not be afraid, Abram, for I am your shield, your very great reward.")

I think this is one of our biggest challenges as Christians right now -- the world holds rallies, parades, and celebrations of SELF-affirmation (making us our own god,) but the one true God asks us to affirm our belief in HIM, rather than ourselves.

Proverbs 3:5 -- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding."

I struggle with this, too... Stepping out simply because God asks me to, not because I feel like I'm going to ace the test. It's really a fight to look past our limits and see God instead, which is something we all wrestle with.

Blessings to you, Ben! May God give you strength in what He wants to do in your life and peace as His son whom He equips according to what He has called you to do.

Please keep us posted on your journey. 🙂

Focus on your inner growth, build the relationship with God first, then start the healing process. We all have shortcomings, perceived or otherwise. Its a matter of building on our strengths and fixing our weaknesses. It takes time and patience. Oh and always be the authentic you, yo don't need a facade to hide behind, neither do we need someone else to complete us.

God chose you for a particular role and you can and will play your part. and play it well.

All that matters is that we trust the Potter (God), not the clay (us)! 😊

You should. Believe in yourself, I mean. I know I've debated you before and you hold your own. I might disagree but you never take the easy way and begin faulting the man instead of the issue, you always back your thoughts with justification tempered with undeniable faith. In my mind you're bright, well written, probably well read, and you're wise besides being intelligent.

So... I pick me poison when I disagree with you.

That said... weird? you might be. Incapable? ummm no.

Sometimes self can be the biggest obstacle in trusting what God says. I remember a while back when i started getting into entrepreneurship i was afraid of doing it because everything was new and there were so many different learning curves. There were many times where all that i had was His belief of what He said i could do. I had no self belief, i was just grinding it out because He said i could, and it is His belief that i would be successful at it.

Best i could say is to just grind it out knowing that it is His faith/ belief/will that you are pursuing, especially if it is good and noble... The faith that you pursue is not your own, but His first.. He believed first, so you believe by responding by your actions to that belief even if you have to do it blind and in a world that says "no". You do what you do because He believes in you first, and you in Him. Self awareness of your capability or lack there of is not needed.

You aren't capable...by yourself. Always remember "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Without God we can do nothing of value to the Kingdom. Don't focus on your weaknesses, focus on the Lord's power.

Thank you all for sharing. I have to succeed.

I actually have no idea of what is in store for me, still hasn't been revealed, however my knowledge of God and his story has increased threefold since 2012.

Thanks for posting this. it is a good explanation on faith and how we are to have faith in Him and not depend on our own faith. I sometimes struggle with that. It is a reminder to me that it is all about believing what His believes about us are.