“It won’t be good enough,” I told myself. In 10th grade, I worked for weeks on a science project. I was sure my miserable project would barely earn me a C, if not a D or F. Back in those days, we had no Internet to help with research. In order to help me prepare, my parents drove me to our local library in the weeks before the project’s due date so I could work on the assignment. I was sure it would barely pass, as I knew others would have better-organized and better-looking projects. A cloud of impending doom hovered over me after I handed it in. It felt like I was alone fighting a fire-breathing dragon in the dark.
I was filled with dread for days as I waited for my grade. On the day they were announced, I was nervous. I remember creating scenarios in my mind of how I would explain my failure to my parents. The bell rang, and I took my seat. I felt all the blood drain from my face, my expression must have betrayed my feelings, as my teacher said, “Lea, why are you so worried? Yours was one of the best projects. Congratulations on a well-deserved A.” Relieved, I couldn’t believe my work was worth an A, but my teacher did, and, much to my relief, I would not have to explain a failing grade to my parents.
Struggling to slay the dragon
Now that I’m grown, I’ve continued to battle feelings of inadequacy. Feeling that I’m not making the grade, no matter how hard I try. Whatever job, ministry, or family activity I’ve participated in, a dark cloud of inadequacy and failure has followed me. It’s like a sleeping dragon that only awakens to remind me of how impossibly deficient I am. I struggle to slay the dragon!
I’ve learned that I’m not alone in this struggle. Most of us battle daily with feelings of inadequacy at home, work, church, school, or whatever we are involved in. This world has a way of making us feel inadequate. It’s as if we just don’t “cut the mustard.” That inadequacy in turn convinces us that we’re disqualified—nothing we do will ever be good enough.
Dragons sabotage everything
These feelings, these dragons, often cast shadows over our relationships. Wives can’t believe their husbands love them, or vice versa. Everyone doubts they are good enough. And this doubt sabotages our love for one another because we doubt ourselves and everyone else. This is a potentially catastrophic mixture that has certainly resulted in broken friendships and marriages and caused long-standing tension in families.
So, we feel so hopeless. It’s as if we are living in an unending state of darkness. And we face impossible problems with no workable answers.
Enter Jesus, He slayed the dragon
Enter into the equation, Jesus, who loved us so much that He took all of our failings and inadequacies. He slayed the dragon for us, and in exchange, He gave us all that He is, and He is much more than adequate. And he is more than enough.
“And you, my child, ‘Prophet of the Highest,’ will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways, present the offer of salvation to his people, the forgiveness of their sins. Through the heartfelt mercies of our God, God’s Sunrise will break in upon us, shining on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death, then showing us the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace.”
Luke 1:76-79 MSG
Slay the dragon in the light
I love to walk early in the morning. In the morning, everything is new and comes alive with the rising of the sun. On most of my early morning walks, I struggle to get one foot in front of the other. Yet, as time passes, my energy awakens, and before I know it, I have found my pace. One foot in front of the other, one step at a time. Because I don’t want to walk before the sun rises because there’s no light to show me the way, I wait until sunrise. In the same way, we can’t live life until His light dawns on the horizons of our lives and we have the initiative to take that first step.
While we have lived in the dark, the sunrise has come and the light has finally dawned. Why don’t you take a look outside? It’s bright and beautiful, and with Him living inside you, you have what it takes to slay the dragon.
The sun is rising! Isn’t it beautiful?
