You are Qualified

Do you ever feel as if you are not good enough of a person or not qualified enough to talk about God to others?  Do you ever feel like you’re not “Christian enough,” especially when you compare yourself to others that seem to have the Bible memorized and seem to speak in super educated religious language all the time?  I have battled over my lifetime with these intrusive thoughts. I have felt like I am not as qualified to talk about Jesus as some other women that I know. I am an educated woman, but I speak simply, and not as eloquently as some people.  I have made huge mistakes in my life. I do not feel qualified to talk about Jesus sometimes because of these mistakes.  How can I make a difference in the world and share about God’s love when I know these things about myself?

Lies. All of it.  There are multiple examples in the Bible of “underqualified” people making a huge difference in the world. One famous story is the one about the Samaritan woman at the well, as told in John chapter 4.  This story shows us that all God needs is your faith and your testimony and he will do the rest.

Could you imagine, you’re just minding your own business, collecting some water in a jar for your family, then this man comes up to you to talk to you. He’s not supposed to be talking with you because he’s a Jew and you’re a Samaritan, and Jews and Samaritans do not associate with each other like that. You believe different things from each other and follow different rules and customs. This person is supposed to not care enough about you to strike up any sort of a conversation.  Not only does he start speaking to you, but he suddenly calls you out about your past- He knows that you’ve been married and remarried five times.  He knows that you’re currently shacking up with a man that you’re not married to.  There is no possible way this man could have known all of this! There must be something special about him.  Then, despite knowing this, even though you know you both believe different things religiously, he proceeds to explain to you a very important and intimate detail about God, which is what true worship looks like and the kind of worshipers God wants. He then tells you that he is the savior of the world.  Either this man is using magic, or he is who he says he is.

After this conversation with Jesus, the Samaritan woman went and told the people in town to come check Jesus out, shared what he said, and explained that he told her everything she ever did.  “He told me everything I ever did,” she exclaimed.  God knows everything you ever did. Everything from the little white lies you have told to your deepest, darkest secrets.  Despite knowing EVERYTHING, which isn’t pretty for some of us, he wants to use you.  All he needs is your faith and testimony. Despite the Samaritan’s woman past, she had faith.  She believed he was the savior of the world, and she testified (she told others about her experience with him). Her testimony brought many to Jesus to hear for themselves what he had to say, then “many more” became believers. It is believed that this woman’s testimony and witness to others is what catapulted the widespread news of Jesus having arrived on earth.  All she needed to do was believe, tell her story and God did all the rest. 

Harvard Business Review published an article in 2014, discussing the fact that women often do not apply for jobs unless they are 100 percent qualified; as opposed to men, who will often apply for a job when they meet only 60 percent of the qualifications (https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified).  This is astounding! We women tend to not put ourselves out there if we do not believe we are qualified. We won't even try.

The Samaritan woman didn’t have the perfect words. She wasn’t a renowned theologian. In fact, she was from an entirely different culture and didn’t even have the same exact fundamental beliefs as the Jewish people, as she was a Samaritan.  She simply listened, believed, and shared.  Any time you feel afraid to share about Jesus and start to feel unqualified or as if you don’t “know enough” or can’t say it “the right way,” remember the Samaritan woman that Jesus met at the well.  He knew all about her before he arrived. He knew she didn’t know everything about him and knew she wouldn’t be able to go out and preach about him in a profound way. However, he knew she had faith and hope in her heart.  She believed – or was curious enough- in that moment, that once she shared what had happened, others believed, others sought him to learn more, and more were saved.  I encourage you, women and men of God, to have faith, share what you know – your story, and our Savior will take care of the rest.