Are You Feeling Under-, Over- or Dis- Qualfied?

unqualified:
1: not fit : not having requisite qualifications

Ever feel un or under qualified? Ever wonder, “How did I get here?”
I have. Lately I have often been reminded of my lack of qualification. The pressure of striving to make an “A” in every area of life leaves me feeling like Bilbo Baggins….

“I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”

But…

Moses stuttered. God asked him to speak.
David led sheep. God asked him to lead a nation.
Abraham was sterile. God asked him to be the father of many nations.

It seems that in order to qualify for God’s work, unqualification is the number one qualification!

There are times that the opposite is true. We feel overqualified. We feel that certain work is beneath us or that we have grown past a season in life. “I’ve put in my time serving at the church,” we might justify. “It’s time for someone else to step in.

over·qual·i·fied adjective \-ˈkwä-lə-ˌfīd\
: having more education, training, or experience than a job calls for

Jesus is the epitome of over-qualification. The son of God came to earth as a man….and He came to serve.

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. (Philippians 2:5-8 MSG)

When it comes to serving mankind, there can nothing be beneath us.

Disqualify

: to make ineligible for a prize or for further competition because of violations of the rules

But the most difficult station of qualification to find oneself in is disqualification.

Did Joseph’s lack of discretion in telling his brothers his dreams disqualify him from a position which would require great discretion? No! In fact, the consequences of his indiscretion led to bringing him into the very place where he would become the wisest man alive!

Did the fact that Paul persecuted Christians disqualify him from becoming the man who discipled the gentile? History shouts a resounding, “No!”

When God shares with you His dreams for your life, or when you find yourself on a road and accosted by His presence, remember…God prefers the under-, over-and seemingly dis- qualified.

Maybe it’s because through our frailty He is made strong. Or perhaps it’s because when we are forced to depend on Him we are forced to acknowledge His workings in us…

He uses the foolish things to confound the wise. I am certain many have been confounded by my doings. I know I have! I should not be surprised by their accusations and defeating words, or by my own deafening doubts.

GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995)
God never changes his mind when he gives gifts or when he calls someone

Calling
1
: a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence

It has been often said,

God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

It’s so easy to look at the people of faith in Scripture as qualified when we know the end of the story. But, how difficult it is to see that He has called us qualified in the midst of our own journey.

Sometimes He calls from a fiery bush, while other times He appears as a great light disrupting our plans, but most often He leads by a small, still voice saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” No matter which way calls, know that He who calls you also qualifies you.

Sharing at my friend Emily’s…

And Michelle’s