Long ago, I agreed to do something outside my comfort zone. It didn’t go well, and I felt like an utter failure. Not long after, I was offered an opportunity to serve in that area, but I refused because I felt inadequate. Later, I regretted that decision because God could have used me. Does God call us to do something because we are capable or because He has a greater purpose for us despite our limitations?

Have you ever felt inadequate for something God wanted you to do? Two people in the fine print of the Bible intrigue me and indirectly speak to this issue. They could have refused to do what God wanted because they felt inadequate but chose differently.

Here is a quick overview of the situation. Many years earlier, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, demolished the city of Jerusalem. The Jews eventually rebuilt the temple, but the wall surrounding the city remained a crumbling mess. Nehemiah, a Jew who served in the Persian King’s court, was heartbroken when he heard about the wall’s state. After praying, he decided to do something, took a leave of absence, and organized the wall-restoration project.

Enter Uzziel and Hananiah, a goldsmith and a perfume maker, two creatives who helped rebuild a section of the wall (Nehemiah 3:8). How is that for a seeming mismatch of skills for construction work? Did they feel inadequate for the task? I wonder what the conversation around the water jug sounded like when they were present!

Why would a goldsmith get grime under his fingernails and perform work that hardened his hands? Or why would a perfume maker with delicate odour receptors in his nose work in a dusty environment? They did just that, so God’s call outweighed their natural reluctance. By including their professions in this Bible passage, it’s possible God wanted to illustrate that regardless of how they earned their living, He could use them for a greater purpose.

Recently, I heard about a man who was a high school janitor. That was never his dream, but during his years serving in that capacity, he had been able to speak with and influence students in ways teachers could not. God had a greater purpose for that man’s life than holding a dream job. That sounds like a perfume maker or a goldsmith helping to build a stone wall.

The construction assignment wasn’t a permanent redirection of these men’s lives. But what if they had refused to help because they felt inadequate or thought that manual labour was beneath them? Nehemiah would have found someone else to fill the vacancy, but Hananiah and Uzziel would have missed God’s blessing. Can you imagine those volunteers’ satisfaction for the rest of their lives? They had a small part in re-establishing Jerusalem’s defences, the city where the Holy Temple resided. They weren’t inadequate. God chose them for a greater purpose despite what their resumes said.

Uzziel and Hananiah’s presence wasn’t a liability or a hindrance, or God would have chosen someone else. However, personal comfort or feeling inadequate isn’t a reason to reject God’s leading. I learned a hard lesson in my younger years, but it taught me that God doesn’t call us because we are adequate but because He is.

Are you willing to allow God to use you for a greater purpose? Is He nudging you to become like the perfume maker or goldsmith and step beyond your natural inclinations even if you feel inadequate? The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” It’s worth thinking about.

If you are interested in reading more about Nehemiah and this project, the story is in the books of Ezra  and Nehemiah in the Bible’s Old Testament.