“But I can’t go into ministry. I am unworthy of being a preacher.” How many times have I had a similar conversation? A man who shows to have the heart and talents for ministry believes himself to be unworthy. A wife keeps her husband from going into ministry because she feels she is not worthy of being a preacher’s wife. While I appreciate their humility, their feeling of unworthiness keeps them from serving as the Lord needs them.

John the baptizer felt unworthy even to remove Jesus’ sandals (Mt.3:11).
The centurion felt unworthy of having Jesus under his roof (Mt. 8:8).
Paul felt he was unworthy even of being called an apostle (I Cor.15:9).
From Moses to Jeremiah and from Esther to Peter, no one worthy of their salt believes themselves to be worthy of being a servant of the Lord.

However, while Paul felt unworthy of spreading knowledge of Jesus (2 Cor.2:14-17), he points out that it is necessary to be doing so. It made him want to preach Christ, preach Christ to everyone, and preach Christ to everyone for the right reasons. Paul goes on to say, “Not that we are adequate (worthy) in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy (worthiness) is from God, who also made us adequate (worthy) as servants of a new covenant, …” (II Cor.3:5-6).

Our feeling unworthy can cause us to do two things. It may cause us to withdraw and not live up to God’s expectations. On the other hand, it may make us feel so overwhelmed as we view His blessings. In that scenario, we will be prompted to do all we can to tell others of Him!

While John, the centurion, Paul, Moses, Jeremiah, and many others (including this writer) have felt unworthy of being used by the Lord in His ministry, there is one thing they (we) all have in common. He has still used every one of us! May we all realize that in Christ we have been made worthy! And may we be motivated to tell all of our Great God and the blessings and joys of serving Him!

Corey Sawyers