There is a big difference between feeling inadequate and feeling inferior. To feel inadequate means to feel lack of necessary qualities. To feel inferior is a lower state of dignity, value or worth.
Reasons many feel inferior:
Consistent disapproval: some people received negative messages throughout childhood.
Being controlled: A person can develop feelings of inferiority if they have been controlled by someone consistently for a long period of time. A good example is Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 1:4-9, NKJV “Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.’ Then said I: ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.’ But the Lord said to me: ‘Do not say “I am a youth,” For you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.”
When God tells you to do something, don’t tell Him you can’t do it. The main key to overcoming inferiority is knowing God is with you and for you and will deliver you. Jeremiah’s feelings of inadequacy and inferiority drove him to the Lord. If God call us to it, He will empower us to do it.
Our past can make us feel inferior and inadequate. Our past failure sometimes holds us back. God is kind and loving. He is eager to pardon us. He will then give us all we need for our present situation. The way we feel about ourselves can make us feel inferior or inadequate. (Exodus 3:11-12, NKJV) Our intellectual abilities can make us feel inferior or inadequate. (Exodus 4:10-15, NKJV, TLB)
Today’s Challenge: The cure for inferiority is knowing who you are in Christ. Visit www.jameswgreer.com and read out loud the Who I Am in Christ resource.