Beyond Ourselves

To mark World Youth Skills Day, Fiona Giusti reflects on the gifts and abilities God has placed within each of us. Whilst fear and self-doubt can prevent us from responding to new opportunities, we are reminded that God does not call us because we are perfect or fully qualified. Instead, God asks us to trust in his grace, make ourselves available and to allow spiritual strength to be revealed through our lives. 

How many times have you been chosen for a task because someone believed you were the right person? And how many times have you turned down that opportunity, silencing it with thoughts such as, ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I can’t do it’ or ‘Someone else would be better suited’?

Perhaps you have experienced something similar when God has called you to do something. Not someone else, but you. Instead of saying ‘yes’, fear may have convinced you that you were not capable, that there must have been some mistake or that God could not possibly use someone like you. If that sounds familiar; you are not alone.

Perhaps the greatest obstacle we face is not the criticism we receive from other people, but the voice inside our own minds.

World Youth Skills Day, marked on 15 July, was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014 to recognise the importance of equipping young people with the skills and abilities they need to grow, serve others and make a difference. As Christians, we can view this day through a different lens. Every talent, gift and ability we possess comes from God. He created each of us uniquely and has a purpose for our lives.

Throughout the Bible, we meet people who questioned whether they had what it took to fulfil the task God had given them. Again and again, God’s chosen servants focused on their limitations rather than his power. Yet God did not point to their qualifications. Instead, he reminded them that he would be with them.

Time after time, God chose ordinary people so that his power, rather than their own abilities, could be revealed.

Perhaps the greatest obstacle we face is not the criticism we receive from other people, but the voice inside our own minds. How often have we felt inspired to follow God’s leading, only to convince ourselves that we are not talented, experienced or capable enough? Before anyone else has the opportunity to discourage us, we often discourage ourselves.

But when God calls you, he already knows every part of you. God is not surprised by your weaknesses, and he did not overlook them when choosing you. The question has never been whether you are enough on your own, but whether you are willing to trust in God.

You may be carrying the weight of past mistakes, walking through a difficult season or feeling completely unqualified. None of these things are beyond God’s reach.

We should not underestimate God’s power or God’s purpose for our lives. If God chooses to work through you, your limitations will not prevent his plans being accomplished in your life. You may be confident or reserved. You may be carrying the weight of past mistakes, walking through a difficult season or feeling completely unqualified. None of these things are beyond God’s reach.

God’s purpose is greater than our fear, our insecurities and every excuse we use to hold ourselves back. What is required is your willing heart, your availability and your quiet trust god has already given you what it takes – whether in your Salvation Army church, school, workplace, family or wherever God has placed you.

Fiona Giusti

As we mark World Youth Skills Day, take time to celebrate the gifts God has entrusted to you. Pray over them and allow God to use them to bless others and make a lasting difference in your church and community. The abilities God has given you were never intended to remain hidden but that, through your life, his love and power might be seen.