Scripture Focus (NKJV)
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.”
— 2 Corinthians 3:5“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:9
Devotional
There were moments in medical school when I felt painfully aware of my insufficiency.
Sitting in class, listening to others answer questions quickly — concepts clicking for them in ways that didn’t click for me. Watching classmates move through material with confidence while I sat there silently wondering why it felt heavier in my hands.
Before exams, anxiety would sit beside me like a familiar neighbor.
What if you fail again?
What if this proves you’re not built for this?
What if everyone finally sees you don’t belong?
Sometimes the battle happened in a study pod — staring at my notes, fighting discouragement.
Sometimes it happened in the shower — crying quietly, talking to God, not from peace but from fear. My prayers sounded more like desperation than devotion.
And somewhere in that season, a question formed:
If God really called me, shouldn’t I feel more capable?
Paul answers that question in a way that unsettles and frees us at the same time:
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves…”
In other words — the feeling of insufficiency is not evidence against your calling.
It is evidence that you were never meant to rely on yourself.
The lie we absorb in competitive environments is that calling equals natural competence. That if you are chosen, it should feel easy. That if you are positioned correctly, you should feel strong enough.
But Scripture says your sufficiency is not from you.
Not your intellect.
Not your speed.
Not your memory retention.
Not your emotional steadiness before exams.
From God.
And then comes the line that reshapes weakness entirely:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Not removed by weakness.
Not delayed by weakness.
Perfected in it.
What if the moments you feel most exposed academically are not interruptions to your formation — but invitations into deeper dependence?
What if sitting in that classroom feeling slower was not proof of deficiency — but positioning?
What if the shower prayers spoken in frustration were not failures of faith — but training in reliance?
God does not wait for you to feel capable before He works through you.
He supplies what He calls for.
“You do not have to feel sufficient to be called.”
Let that settle.
The pressure to be self-sufficient is not from God. The demand to carry your journey alone is not from Him. The fear that weakness disqualifies you is not biblical.
Your insufficiency does not intimidate God.
It attracts His strength.
Application
Be honest with yourself:
Where have you mistaken anxiety for evidence that you don’t belong?
Have you interpreted struggle as spiritual failure?
Are you trying to generate confidence instead of receiving grace?
What if the very area you feel weakest in is the place God intends to reveal His sufficiency?
Prayer
Lord, I confess that I want to feel capable.
I want to walk into exams without fear.
I want to grasp concepts quickly.
I want to feel strong enough for what You’ve called me to.
But You have said my sufficiency is from You.
When anxiety rises, anchor me in that truth.
When I feel exposed, remind me that weakness is not disqualification.
Teach me to lean into Your grace instead of fighting my limits alone.
Be strong where I am weak.
Be steady where I am afraid.
Be sufficient where I am not.
Amen.
Final Reflection
You may feel insufficient.
But you are not unsupported.
You may feel weak.
But you are not alone.
And you do not have to feel strong to be called.
Your sufficiency is not from you.
And that is not a weakness.
It is freedom.