The Instrument of Choice

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20

So I made plans to go out with friends today and I have an outfit I’ve been dying to wear again. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. I got up, showered, smiled as I thought about my OOTD pics and how this was going to be IT. I went to put the outfit on, still excited about wearing it… and the zipper popped. Insert devastation. I sat and I looked at myself in the mirror and while I have a closet full of clothes and many other options, I started to look for safety pins and my sewing kit because I was DETERMINED to make this outfit work. Now of course for the sake of time and realism, another outfit was chosen, but it made me think. It made me think about how we can align ourselves with the outfits hanging in my closet.

How many times have you been this perfect outfit (mine is a denim jumpsuit), the chosen one, the one all the other outfits are looking at with either awe or jealousy because you’ve been selected for the day. Your Confidence is at an all time high because you know that any other outfit could have been picked but YOU are the special one. And then just as you’re relaxing into your role, some stress is applied to your zipper. But you’re good, right? Because a little Stress doesn’t mean you can’t hold it all together. Except this time, it does. You snap. And it’s gaudy. Everyone can see it, everyone knows it’s not looking good for you. You are no longer Confident or chosen… you are Inadequate. Talk about crushed. Life throws these kinds of scenarios at us all the time, where we are ripe and ready to go and then that one move makes us no longer fit for the assignment. But who decided that? Was it you… or was it the One who sent you there?

I only have one affirmation for you today, as we close out this series on Stress, Confidence, and Inadequacy and it is this: You ARE the Instrument of Choice. Just like when the zipper popped on my outfit of choice, I wasn’t ready to give up on it, God is not giving up on you. Your family and friends and all those depending on you and believing in you are not giving up on you. They love you! And they are willing to work with you and on you to get you back to the place where your adequacy can shine. Even when we don’t think we can because we’re tarnished or broken, God will put us back together so we can get back to the assignment He gave us. Paul was a very broken man. First, as Saul, he persecuted God’s people. And then, as Paul, he battled with feeling unworthy and inadequate in the role assigned him not only because of his past but because of the opposition he often faced as he tried to press forward. But he understood that he was a chosen instrument of God and said “now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20) God is doing a mighty work within us and through us and it’s bigger than what we might ask or think. Because He chose us for it.

So take heed, you are the Instrument of Choice, the Chosen One, the OOTD that your fans are excited to see shine. So shine on, and don’t let Inadequacy put a damper on the song you play. I love you, keep conquering daily!