Defeating Discouragement and Turning Inadequacy Into Victory – Purity 1919
Purity 1919 03/24/2026
Purity 1919 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of Charles Clement Calderon’s (1870-1906) Oil on canvas, Venice (undated) comes to us from yours truly as I captured this work of art during my visit to the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum in Springfield, MA, back on December 9, 2023.
Well, it’s Tuesday and I share today’s painting as part of my Lenten journey to recognize beauty in the things of the past and to recognize that there is a whole world beyond the small confines of our personal lives – a world where people have never known the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and don’t know of the riches of a life lived in the Spirit. The city of Venice awaits our visit. Will we ever go there? Will we ever share the hope that we have in Christ with people that far away?
I asked these questions this morning because, as I went through my morning exercise routine, I was overcome by feelings and thoughts about my inadequacy regarding my ability to reach more people for Christ. I believe the enemy sought to discourage me this morning as I have recently been updating the podcast episodes of “Bible Study with the Cincottis” on YouTube with a new thumbnail in hopes that my small efforts would result in more people finding our little Bible Study program and being encouraged in their faith. Our podcast doesn’t reach many people, and I have been trying to change that. But this morning I got with thoughts that told me that I was wasting my time and I should forget about trying to reach more people, and that I should just stop it altogether. These thoughts not only attacked my ministry attempts but then sought to remind me of my sinful past to disqualify me for sharing the gospel altogether, trying to convince me that it was a good thing that my ministry attempts aren’t more successful because it would only lead to embarrassment as people from my past would come forth to proclaim how I had not always been a “saint” and may have used, abused, or mistreated them in the past. The message that was sent to me was that if I were any more successful in ministry, it would only be short-lived, as the enemy would expose events from my pre-recovery days to cause a scandal and end up causing pain and embarrassment for the body of Christ.
However, the enemy tipped his hand here. The mental attacks on me were condemning and sought to use my inadequacies to keep me from being a witness for Christ. Satan tried to use fear to stop me from continuing in my ministry. God doesn’t condemn me and wouldn’t want me to stop encouraging others to come to Him. So I’m going to continue to submit to God and resist the devil and be honest about my life and how the Lord changed it for good.
Speaking of using the pain of the past to bring good into the present and future, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion from yesterday talks about turning our inadequacies into victory, and I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage us all to go to the Lord to receive His strength to carry on as disciples of Christ. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“Turning Inadequacy Into Victory
To live joyfully and confidently, shift your gaze from your limitations to Jesus’ sufficiency.
Philippians 2:12-13
From time to time, a sense of insufficiency will surface in all of us, but through the Holy Spirit, we have the power to combat it.
Here are three steps to take:
- Acknowledge your weakness. Suppose a neighbor tells you about his sister’s life-threatening illness. He’s scared, wondering what comes after death. You sense God urging you to share your hope in Christ, but inadequacy nearly drowns out the prompting. Feeling unsure is a normal reaction, and following God’s directive requires acknowledging our fear. For example, we can pray, “Lord, I don’t feel capable. Help me witness to my neighbor.”
- Pray for strength. Say, “Father, I know this is what You want me to do, so I’m trusting You to be true to Your Word. You said You’d make me adequate in Christ Jesus.” The Lord assumes responsibility for enabling you to know what to say, how to say it, and to deliver His message in the appropriate spirit (Matthew 10:20).
- Step out in faith. Do something that propels you into the God-given opportunity, allowing Him to prove His power and your ability when relying on Him.
Let God turn inadequacy into victory. He delights in proving Himself in His children’s lives. When you look beyond your limitations to Jesus’ total sufficiency, you’ll find joy and confidence.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. Recently, I have been challenged by a deep desire to reach more people for Christ, but with the desire to share the message of freedom in Christ comes the realization that my efforts and effectiveness at reaching others are humble to say the least. To add insult to injury, I haven’t always received the support or encouragement of church leaders at times but much causes me to question whether or not I should be trying to reach more people at all.
Based on my abilities and the apparent feedback I have received, perhaps it would be best to just stop trying and be content with what I have done and “give it a rest”.
But then I remember the darkness of a life without Christ, and I reject any feelings of inadequacy that I might have because I know that I’d didn’t just wise up and start “doing the right thing” like a good boy should.
No, the only reason I have the freedom that I have today is that God called me out and, amazingly, He used imperfect people, like me, to deliver the messages and teachings of love and truth that opened my eyes to the glory of the Lord.
My pastors and teachers were not perfect, but the gospel message and encouragement they gave was used by God to touch my heart and to change my mind about life and who I could be.
I am a voice for God, and my purpose is to speak of His love and power and to leave the results up to Him.
So I will speak and I will do everything I can to spread the message of hope and freedom in Christ and won’t let my inadequacies deter me from my purpose in Christ.
I acknowledge my weakness, but I’ll pray for strength and step out in faith wherever the Lord calls me because the message is not about me and my limitations- the message I am to deliver is about God and the power and transforming love that He has to give to those who hear His voice through me and who seek Him.
So don’t let your past mistakes or your present inadequacies keep you from the life that God has for you.
Acknowledge your weakness, pray for strength, and step out in faith and see where the Lord will lead you. He wants to do a mighty work in you and through you, so trust and obey His call to receive it and give it to others.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on the Providence of God.
Jonah 1:4 (ESV) But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.
Today’s verse is the first of four passages of scripture that fall under the twenty second point of our counseling reference guide resource section on the Providence of God.
22. The story of Jonah strikingly reveals God’s providence.
Today’s Bible verse informs us that we can run, but we can’t hide from God. Jonah was called to be a prophet, but he didn’t like the message that God wanted to deliver, so he decides to jump on a ship and go far from his intended destination.
But the Lord had a mission for Jonah to accomplish, and when the Lord wants you to do something, He has ways to change your course – ways like a great wind upon the sea that will threaten to sink the ship you’re on.
God provided Jonah with the proper motivation to accept his mission, and Jonah went all in, literally, into the sea. So if you get a call from the we suggest you don’t run from it. God provides us with all we need to do his work, one way or the other.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today, we continue sharing from “Pause for Power” By Warren Wiersbe.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Wiersbe’s books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 53 – Eli-Who?- Read Job 31–32:1
So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. – Job 32:1
Job was silent. He had ended his defense and given oath that he was not guilty of the sins he had been accused of by his friends. Job had challenged God either to vindicate him or pass sentence on him.
Job’s three friends were silent, appalled that Job had dared to speak so boldly to God and about God.
God was silent. The silence was God’s eloquent witness to the three friends that they were wrong.
However, in the crowd around the ash heap, one person was not silent. It was Elihu, a man so unknown that his full pedigree had to be given so people could identify him (Job 32:2). While Elihu said some of the same things as the other speakers, his purpose was different. He was not trying to prove that Job was a sinner but that Job’s view of God was wrong. Elihu introduced a new truth into the debate: that God sends suffering, not necessarily to punish us for our sins, but to keep us from sinning (33:15–18, 19–24) and to make us better persons (36:1–15). Paul would have agreed with the first point (2 Cor. 12:7–10) and the writer of Hebrews with the second (Heb. 12:1–11).
Something to Ponder – Have you sensed God’s “silence” in the midst of your own trials? How did you interpret that silence?[1]
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[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Pause for Power: A 365-Day Journey through the Scriptures, 2nd Ed., Year in the Word Series (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2010).
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