“I can’t do that. I’m just a mom.”
“I’m not old enough. I’m just a teen.”
“I don’t have enough training. I’m just a high school graduate.”
“I’m too old. I’m just a grandparent.”
Have you ever made an excuse like these? An opportunity presents itself, and one of your first thoughts is, “I could never do that. I’m just a ______.”
I have thought and uttered these words many times through various stages . . .
as a child, as a teenager full of awkwardness, as a college student with limited brain space, free time, and finances, as a newly married woman with a thousand insecurities, and now as a homeschooling mom to four young children.
“I can’t do that. I’m just a ________.”
I have a real issue with the statement above and by the end of this article, I hope you will too. Because here’s the truth: You are not just a (fill-in-the-blank).
When you believe this lie, you can begin to think that you’re smarter than God.
He put a burden on your heart, but you can’t fulfill it because you don’t have enough time and money.
He has given you a passion for something, but you can’t experiment with it because you’re just a teenager and nobody trusts you.
He’s gifted you with talents, but you can’t develop them because you’re a mom and you don’t have enough kid-free time.
You sense him leading you to develop a specific friendship, but you’re too scared to invest because you’re just not very interesting and who would want to spend time with you?
Let’s Pretend . . .
Let’s pretend for a quick second that God knows what He’s doing.
What if God knew what He was doing when He gave you your personality and talents?
How would you view yourself in light of the understanding that God made you exactly how He wanted you to be? How would you view your talents compared to others when you recognized God lovingly handpicked those talents for you?
What if God knew what He was doing when He placed you in your family?
What if your parents, only-child-status, sibling order, and particular family quirks are not an oversight? What if He’s actually using them to form your character into what He wants it to be?
What if God knew what He was doing when He moved you to your exact location and gave you your income?
How would you view your home, neighborhood, weather patterns, and financial status in light of the fact that God planned it for you?
What if God knew what He was doing when He gave you the burdens, passions, and desires you have today?
Would you accept them with more gratefulness? Would you prayerfully consider how He might want you to use them instead of casting off opportunities with the excuse that you’re just a ______? Would you run the race before you with joy instead of fear, realizing that he’s the one who has planned the course?
Here’s the Truth
Let me let you in on a little secret: God knows what he’s doing.
He does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” (Daniel 4:35)
He knows what he’s doing with every detail of your life. You are not just a mom or a teenager or a person without any sort of visible accomplishment. You are his. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1).
When I believe the lie that “I am just a ______,” I deny God’s sovereignty in making me who I am, placing me where I am, and giving me the exact personality and talents I need to make a difference for him in this world.
When I believe the lie that “I am just a ______,” I think more of who I think I am than who God says I am.
Believe God’s Word more than your insecurities.
You are not just an “anything.” You are God’s child. And he has a loving plan for your life.
