A barrier to discerning your gifts: a deep sense of inadequacy.
I’ve heard this phrase countless times: "God doesn’t call the equipped. God equips the called." These sentences are a great source of comfort for us when we face what it is we think God is calling us to and feel within us a deep sense of inadequacy. That deep inadequacy might not be a barrier to discerning our calling at all, because it will help us to stay in the right place: dependent on the God who provides everything we need for the life he calls us to. We shouldn’t have an overinflated sense of our own abilities or our own importance in the work that God will do through us. Sometimes, our feelings of inadequacy are actually a part of our calling and shouldn’t keep us from stepping forward in faith.
On the other hand, a deep sense of inadequacy might indeed be a legitimate barrier – a red flag that keeps us from doing something. Although there will be times when God calls us to do things for which we are completely unqualified, it is definitely an exception to the rule (See: The Fabric of this World, p. 93). Your giftedness does matter and knowing it is part of the task of your discernment.
Hold it up to the Light:
Hold your sense of inadequacy up to the light of God.
Ask Yourself: Is this an inadequacy that is fundamental and should keep me from this? Or is this inadequacy a healthy part of my call – keeping me humble and dependent on the Holy Spirit?
In spite of your sense of inadequacy, God leads you through the gifts God has given you.
The Voids.
God leads you through the gifts God has given you.