Can I Really Do This?

   Have you ever had a time where you were called to do something and you weren't sure you were ready for? I know I have. In fact I have recently gone through a time like this. I'm already someone who is not very assertive about certain things. I don't like "selling myself" and I don't like stepping on toes.

   To make matters worse the person who I replaced was there for one of the first events I was at. Now, I wasn't upset with this person. In fact, he was someone who taught me much of what I knew about this area. Yet, it was intimidating because I wanted to show everyone that I could do this.
   Part of my problem was I knew the personality of the person who I replaced. He was confident, a people person, and very demanding of those in his charge. Meanwhile, yes I had experience doing what I was doing but not at the level I was doing it at. I also knew there was no way I could be like the person I replaced without faking, putting on a mask, and in essence lying. Yes, I have confidence but it's a different kind of confidence. I'm not really a people person. I will talk to people and get to know them but I like to do it on a deeper level. I am not a big fan of small talk. I am demanding of those in my charge but in a different way than this person was.
   Long story short: when I saw this person I did things my way with those under my charge; and he did things his way with those under his charge. He won and we lost. Yes, I had to put things into perspective. I had only been working with those under my charge for less than a week. I was ironing out a lot of things and we were just getting started. However, it still hurt. I felt like I had failed those under me.
   Now I had a choice: I could wallow and accept that I wasn't going to be as good as the person I replaced or I could let it go and keep working hard. Before I tell you about my choice I want to point out a few other things. 1. I was focused on how the person I replaced did things. I was focused on his strengths, not mine. 2. I have been talking about this person's strengths and my weaknesses compared to him. But, I have not talked about God's strength. God called me to take that position. It was outside of my comfort zone because I knew I would be really busy. I also knew it would be an adjustment to those under me because I have a different style than the person I replaced. God called me to do this and I know he will bring me through it.
   You could probably guess what my choice was. I chose to keep working hard. However, I did not choose to do things the way the person I replaced did things. I chose to do things my way. I chose to do things according my strength. I chose to do things that way because that's the way God made me. He gave me those strengths. He wants me to use them to reflect his glory. He wants you to do that too.
   So, do you try to do things the way other people do them even if it's uncomfortable? Do you believe that God gave you strengths for a reason? What can you do to step out in faith today?

   Joshua 1:9, 1 Peter 4:10, and James 1:17
   Image from here.