NathanCrawford

"i'm not good enough"… a common thought that everybody has had at one time or another...

one of my favorite songs is "embracing accusation" by shane&shane (click here to listen). the lyrics of this song are:
"the father of lies coming to steal kill and destroy all my hopes of being good enough. i hear him saying cursed are the ones who can’t abide. he’s right. lleluia he’s right!
the devil is preaching the song of the redeemed. that i am cursed and gone astray.
i cannot gain salvation. embracing accusation
could the father of lies be telling the truth of God to me tonight?
if the penalty of sin is death then death is mine
the devil’s singing over me an age old song that i am cursed and gone astray
singing the first verse so conveniently. he’s forgotten the refrain
Jesus saves!
He redeemed us from the curse of law"

i had the privilege of listening live to this song. before it was plaid, shane barnard (of shane&shane) told the story of how this song came about. he spoke of his feelings of complete inadequacy, a sense of letting God down over and over, and simply never being good enough. he said it was in one of his moments of feeling this way that he felt God speak to him and say, "you're right. you are not good enough. but I am and I have redeemed you through grace". he said it was in that moment that he finally realized he wasn't good enough and that was ok (complete story here) ...

it's so easy to get caught up in the game of trying to be "good enough," to earn God's approval. but the reality is, if we could earn it, then it wouldn't be grace. the act of earning anything completely nullifies the very essence of grace. grace is given freely…

and one of the most amazing things about God is that He isn't looking for people who are good enough. He's looking for people who are willing enough. willing enough to say, "God i need you. God, i'll do what you're asking me to do" (and actually DO IT). it's these people that God is using to advance his Kingdom in great ways! below is a video of singer/songwriter for Hillsong, Joel Houston. he shares this very thought and how he, even though God has used him in incredible ways, still deals with feelings of inadequacy…

Mark 1:6 (ESV)
"now john was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey"...
i may be reading too much into it, but i find it very interesting that God's Word takes the time to describe what this man was wearing. perhaps the point of the description is that this man, the very man God used to prepare the way for His Son, that He used to baptize His Son, was not the coolest guy around at the time…was not the most professional…didn't fit the social norm…was not good enough, as even confessed by john himself (Matthew 3:13-14). BUT, he was willing. even though very idea of baptizing Jesus didn't make sense to him, it was what Jesus asked, and he did it.

God's not looking for the good enough. He's looking for the willing enough. and it's the willing enough that make the difference…