You Don’t Have to Feel Ready | Empower Her Blog
- Empower Her Ministries
- May 29
- 4 min read
“God Isn’t Looking for Perfect People. He’s Looking for Available People.”
There’s this idea that before God can use you, you have to have everything together first.
That you need to be fully healed. Fully confident. Fully qualified. Fully prepared.
Most of the time, the people God uses don’t feel ready at all.
And, I want to encourage you with that today because I know what it feels like to wrestle with the call of God while simultaneously feeling unqualified for it.
There have been many moments in my life where I made the decision to simply be available to God.
But, one moment in particular that stands out to me was when I recognized that God was calling me to preach.
Preaching was never something I pictured myself doing!
I grew up in church.
My father is a pastor.
I had seen many people preach God’s word, mostly men and somewhere along the way, I developed a certain perspective of what preaching “looked like.”
I thought maybe I would teach women, lead Bible studies or just encourage people quietly behind the scenes.
But preach publicly?
I didn’t think that was for me!
At the time, I was also a pastor’s wife, and honestly, I just didn’t see myself in that role.
But even though I felt unsure, there was still this pull in my spirit that I couldn’t ignore.
God was calling me to preach His word.
And eventually, I had to make a decision:
Would I keep running from the call because I didn’t feel ready… or would I simply make myself available to God?
Shortly after saying yes to that call, I experienced divorce.
And if I’m being honest, I became even more confused.
I thought:
“God, how could you still want to use me after this?”
I had a messy past.
I had pain.
I had disappointment.
I had sooo many questions.
The divorce had just officially happened a few months prior, and I had moved back in with my parents.
Friend, I definitely did not feel “qualified” to preach.
But deep down, I still knew God had called me.
So I made the decision to keep studying His word.
To keep sharing His word.
And, if the opportunity came for me to preach, I would say yes.
Several months later, I was invited to preach at the church I grew up in.
I was nervous.
I felt unqualified.
I questioned myself the entire time.
But, I also trusted that if God called me to it, He would give me what I needed for it.
And He did.
I preached my first sermon.
Then months later, I was invited back again.
And now, almost a year later, I’ll be preaching once a month at that church beginning next month.
Friend, I say all of this to tell you something important:
I never truly felt ready.
And honestly?
Sometimes I still don’t!
But, I’ve learned that being used by God was never about me having it all together.
It was about my willingness to be available.
God doesn’t call perfect people.
He calls willing people!
The Bible says in Acts 4:13:“They were ordinary men… but they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
That part encourages me every single time.
Ordinary people, used by an extraordinary God who had been with Jesus!
That same truth applies to us today.
God can use anybody.
At any time.
In any season.
As long as they are willing to be available to Him.
Maybe you feel like your past disqualifies you.
Or perhaps, your current situation makes you feel unworthy.
But, what if God is simply asking for your yes right now?
Just availability.
Because when you make yourself available to God, your life becomes connected to His will.
And attached to His will are things bigger than you could ever imagine freedom, healing, breakthrough, encouragement, and impact for other people.
Your yes could be the very thing God uses to help someone else keep going.
This Week's Faith Moves:
So What Do You Do If You Don’t Feel Ready?
1. Stop waiting for everything to be perfect.
Most people in the Bible were called in the middle of imperfect situations. God already knows your weaknesses, your fears, and your past. None of it surprises Him.
2. Stay connected to God daily.
The more time you spend with God, the more confidence you build in Him, not in yourself.
3. Keep showing up even when you’re nervous.
Faith is not the absence of fear. Faith is obedience despite fear.
4. Focus on availability over image.
Don’t spend your life trying to “look” ready. Ask God to make you willing.
Reflection Question
If God called you to step out today, would you be willing to say yes even if you don’t feel fully ready?
Verse of the Day
Acts 4:13 (NLT) “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.”
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