Me, Disciple? Encouragement for Those Who Feel Inadequate
Have you ever been asked to disciple another woman, and after promising to pray about it, doubted whether you’re truly equipped for the task? Or maybe a few weeks into a discipling relationship you’ve wondered, Am I doing this woman any good? Are our meetings worthwhile? I’m not sure I’m much help to her spiritually. Maybe discipling others isn’t for me.
We know the shortcomings in our character. We know the gaps in our knowledge of Scripture. We know other women who are more faithful or experienced in living the Christian life. But we’re also aware that God sometimes places women in our paths to encourage and exhort them as they walk with Christ.
So, how are we to overcome our thoughts of inadequacy as we disciple others? How can we put our doubts to rest once and for all?
When I was five years old, I was chosen for the honor of giving a speech at my kindergarten graduation ceremony. Since I barely knew how to read or write, my mother helped me decide what to say in the speech, wrote it down, and then practiced it with me over and over. On graduation day, when it was my turn to speak during the ceremony, I walked up the steps of the stage, stood before a lowered microphone, and gave the speech to approximately 75 five-year-olds and their families without a hitch—with my mother seated nearby in the audience.
I had no fear, I think, for a couple of reasons. For one, I was too young to experience stage fright. I didn’t know to be afraid of hundreds of people staring at me! But more importantly, I had no fear because of my mother. She’d given me the words to say, she’d prepared me to say them, and when I spoke, she was near.
Our Sufficiency is From God
In an infinitely greater way, the Lord is our sufficiency as we minister to one another for the sake of his kingdom. The apostle Paul understood this. When explaining his ministry, he wrote, “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Cor. 3:4–5).
“We’re weak, but Christ is strong. We’re inadequate, but Christ is full of grace and truth. ”
Paul recognized that he was insufficient for fruitful kingdom work. The same is true of us. Specifically, we’re insufficient to disciple other women—to encourage, exhort, comfort, and correct them. To befriend them, love them, persevere with them, and uphold them in prayer. We’re weak, but Christ is strong. We’re inadequate, but Christ is full of grace and truth. And when we do our part in speaking his truth with grace to one another as directed in the Scriptures, Christ “makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Eph. 4:16). Christ is sufficient to accomplish his kingdom work in us and through us.
Just as my five-year-old self had to trust the words, preparation, and presence of my mother, when we question our ability to disciple other women, we also must hold fast to these three truths about our all-sufficient God: he’s given us his powerful Word, he’s prepared us for the task, and he’s promised us his presence.
God Has Given Us His Powerful Word
In a discipling relationship, the most important voice heard isn’t yours, but the Lord’s. He’s spoken in the Scriptures, the whole of the Old and New Testaments. His Word is our authority, is true and trustworthy, and contains all we need to know God and to live for him. When we rightly understand that our words and wisdom are not enough for the women we disciple, we can depend upon the Scriptures—the words of the living God—to powerfully build her up.
In a discipling relationship, together we may read, study, and discuss specific Scripture passages and how they apply to our lives. Sometimes we may simply have discussions informed by and saturated with biblical truth. Either way, God works through his word in the lives of believers (I Thess. 2:13). God uses the Scriptures to increase our knowledge of him, to teach us to forsake sin and pursue godliness, to make us wise for salvation and daily living, to encourage us to persevere in hope, and to bring blessing into our lives. Constantly direct the women you disciple to God’s Word, knowing that he’ll use it to transform them in significant ways and accomplish his good purposes in their lives.
God Has Prepared Us for the Task
God has prepared us in various ways to minister to one another in the church, including to disciple other women in the faith. To begin with, he’s made us new creatures in Christ. We were once dead in our sin, but now we’re alive to God. We were once the enemies of God, but he reconciled us to himself through the death of his Son. We’ve become his children, and other believers are now our brothers and sisters in Christ. God has graciously placed us into his family, his Church.
Within the church, God has given us church leaders to equip us with his Word to minister to one another. As they faithfully preach and teach the Scriptures, we receive instruction and encouragement to serve one another and speak truth into one another’s lives. The Church is built up when we care for one another in these ways. Together we grow in the unity of the faith, in knowing Christ, and in Christlike maturity (Eph. 4:11–13).
In addition, God has given us his Spirit. The Spirit of God lives within us, bearing fruits of his love and granting us spiritual gifts for the good of his Church. As the Spirit’s fruit grows in us and as we use our spiritual gifts, God enables us to minister to one another in ways that glorify him (1 Pet. 4:10–11). In his great lovingkindness, God has prepared us to disciple others not only by placing us in his family and equipping us with his Word, but also by providing his Spirit who works in and through us.
God Has Promised Us His Presence
In Exodus 3, when God calls Moses to carry his message of deliverance to Pharaoh and the Israelite slaves in Egypt, Moses questions the Lord’s plan and doubts his own ability to execute it. In response to Moses’ first objection, God gives him the primary assurance that he needs: “I will be with you” (Ex. 3:12). In Matthew 28, when Christ calls us to make disciples, he reiterates the truth given long before to Moses: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Today, as we sense our inadequacy to disciple, we must remember this—as the Lord was with Moses and the first disciples, he’s with us.
Why is it important to remember the presence of God as we disciple others? It keeps us humbly dependent upon him, for apart from him we can do nothing (John 15:5). God’s presence is our blessing, joy, and strength. As we disciple women, we can trust that the Lord is with us to direct our relationships and conversations, protect us from sin and error, provide wisdom and compassion, and perform his sanctifying work in them and us. He’s always present and faithful.
Our adequacy to disciple is from the Lord. He’s given us his Word, equipped us for this work, and promised us his presence every step of the way. In our weakness, his great power is displayed.
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