Trust Issues: Trusting God When You Don't Feel Like Enough- 08/02/26

First Kings 3 puts Solomon in a place that feels way too big for him. God has made him king after David, and the weight of that assignment is not small. Solomon is young, the people are many, and the responsibility is heavy. God says, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you,” and Solomon does not fake it until he makes it. Solomon owns the gap.

The empty dragon scroll in Kung Fu Panda says the power was inside all along, but Scripture gives something better. Scripture does not tell God’s people to dig deep and find secret power inside themselves. God tells his people to look to him. God’s calling does not depend on what a person already has. God’s calling depends on what God is able to provide.

Jesus defines greatness in a way that cuts against the whole world. The world says meaning comes from being important, impressive, talented, or platformed. Jesus says greatness looks like becoming a servant. Ordinary needs right in front of a person’s face are often the very place where God is calling for obedience.

Insecurity can become an idol when all the attention stays on the “I can’t.” Solomon refuses that. Solomon says he is “only a little child” and does not know how to carry out his duties. That confession is not unbelief. That confession is the beginning of dependency.

Paul’s word in 2 Corinthians gives the secret sauce: God’s grace is sufficient, and his power is made perfect in weakness. God is not looking for impressive people so he can be impressed. God is looking for available people. Brokenness, weakness, hurts, habits, hang ups, even old trauma can become places where God shows a broken world how good he is.

Solomon does not only own what he lacks. Solomon asks God for what he needs. He asks for a discerning heart, an understanding heart, so he can serve God’s people well. Prayer becomes selfish when God is treated like a holy vending machine, but prayer becomes kingdom-shaped when it asks, “God, what is needed to faithfully serve the people placed nearby?”

Solomon wakes up and steps into obedience. Prayer is not a substitute for obedience. Prayer prepares obedience. Faith moves before confidence shows up, because no one feels completely ready when God calls them into something only God can do through them.

God has prepared good works for his people. The body of Christ is not called to sit on the sideline. God’s gifts are not trophies to put on display. God’s gifts are tools to use for his glory, his kingdom, and the good of others.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Own the gap honestly [47:01] Solomon’s confession of weakness is not a collapse of faith. The gap between the call and the ability becomes the very place where dependency begins. Humility tells the truth about weakness and moves toward God, while fear turns weakness into an excuse for disobedience. [47:01]
• 2. Weakness becomes a holy display [48:24] God’s power is not made perfect through human impressiveness. God often uses broken, unusual, and unqualified people because their lives leave no room for self-glory. Surrendered weakness can become a window through which the goodness of God is seen clearly. [48:24]
• 3. Ask for kingdom tools [01:00:42] Solomon’s request pleases God because it is aimed at faithful service, not private comfort. God’s gifts are not trophies meant to prove worth or build status. Wisdom, courage, influence, and experience become holy tools when they are given back to God for the sake of others. [60:42]
• 4. Prayer prepares faithful obedience [01:06:28] Prayer is not meant to become a hiding place from action. Prayer brings the heart before God so obedience can take its next step, even while fear is still present. Faith does not wait until confidence arrives, because confidence often comes only after obedience has begun. [66:28]
• 5. Get off the sideline [01:13:12] The body of Christ is not built for spectatorship. Every gift, resource, experience, and weakness can be brought into the work God is already doing. A stale spiritual life may be less about a lack of belief and more about a life turned inward instead of poured out in service. [73:12]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [28:05] - Rainy Morning and Trusting God
• [28:34] - God’s Calling and God’s Provision
• [29:11] - Kung Fu Panda and Self-Belief
• [32:12] - Looking to God, Not Within
• [33:38] - Greatness Looks Like Servanthood
• [36:38] - When Insecurity Becomes an Excuse
• [38:30] - Solomon Receives God’s Invitation
• [40:31] - Own What Is Lacking
• [52:08] - Ask God for What Is Needed
• [58:19] - Prayer Is Not a Vending Machine
• [65:20] - Step Into What God Calls
• [66:28] - Prayer Prepares Obedience
• [73:12] - Get in the Game
• [73:36] - Closing Prayer and Response

Bible Reading

1 Kings 3:5-15
"At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, 'Ask what I shall give you.' And Solomon said, 'You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?' It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, 'Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.' And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants." [38:30]

2 Corinthians 12:9
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." [47:31]

James 4:3
"You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." [59:47]

Mark 10:43
"But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant," [33:55]

Observation questions

1. In 1 Kings 3, what reasons does Solomon give for feeling unprepared to lead, and what exactly does he ask God to give him? [40:31]
2. What does God say Solomon did not ask for, and why does that help show the kind of heart Solomon had?
3. According to Mark 10:43, how does Jesus define greatness, and how is that different from how people usually think about greatness? [33:55]
4. In 1 Kings 3:15, what does Solomon do after he wakes up, and what does that show about his response to God? [01:05:38]

Interpretation questions

1. Solomon says, “I am but a little child” and “I do not know how to go out or come in.” Why is that kind of honesty not a collapse of faith, but the beginning of dependence on God? [47:16]
2. God was pleased that Solomon asked for wisdom to serve others instead of asking for comfort, success, or revenge. What does that reveal about the kinds of prayers that align with God’s heart? [57:41]
3. God’s power is made perfect in weakness. How can weakness become a place where God’s grace is seen more clearly instead of a reason to stay on the sideline? [48:24]
4. Prayer is not a substitute for obedience; prayer prepares obedience. Why do people sometimes use prayer as a delay tactic, and what does real faith look like when confidence has not shown up yet? [01:06:28]

Application questions

1. Where is the gap most obvious right now between what God may be calling someone to do and what that person feels able to do? What has that gap sounded like internally: “I’m not enough,” “someone else could do it better,” or something else? [36:38]
2. What is one area of weakness, brokenness, past hurt, or insecurity that has mostly been seen as a disqualifier? What might it look like to hand that place to God and ask him to use it for his glory? [49:26]
3. When prayers have mostly sounded like “make this easier,” “take this away,” or “get me out of this,” how might those prayers be reshaped into “give me what I need to serve faithfully here”? [55:11]
4. What would it look like this week to ask for a kingdom tool instead of a personal trophy—wisdom, courage, compassion, patience, boldness, or discernment for the sake of serving someone nearby? [01:00:42]
5. Where might ordinary needs right in front of someone’s face actually be the place God is calling for obedience—at home, at work, in church, or in the neighborhood? What need has been easy to walk past because it did not seem impressive? [36:20]
6. Is there an area where insecurity has quietly become an excuse for disobedience? What would one small step of faith look like before confidence shows up? [50:19]
7. What would “getting off the sideline” look like in a concrete way over the next couple of weeks? Is there a person to serve, a conversation to have, a ministry to join, or a responsibility to stop avoiding? [01:13:12]