Sooner or later, it is going to happen. We’re going to be confronted with our inadequacy. Sometimes, it’s only the perception of our inadequacy by others but the effect is the same. There is a loss of confidence. Sometimes we feel bewildered. To be told, “We don’t think you have “it” anymore,” is a hard pill to swallow. It happens to athletes, blue-collar workers and white-collar workers. It even happened to the prophet/judge Samuel. There are many temptations when we face this. Anger, bitterness, cynicism, striving, discouragement and maybe even a desire to fight! While all of those temptations are understandable, there is a way out of the discouragement. At the risk of appearing cliché or too simplistic, I must say there are several ways to deal with these temptations but the best one is prayer. To sit empty-handed before the all-sufficient, all-wise, and all-adequate God is the best first step. Listen. Read His Word. Contemplate His adequacy and remember that your purpose in life is not to be adequate, your purpose is to know and be known by God and love and be loved by God. The performance track is for race cars, not for humans. So, maybe it is right now. Maybe it will take ten or twenty years, but it is coming and it is not a picnic. We have to face the inevitable reality that humanity is destined for atrophy in this life. What will you do? Do what Samuel did in 1 Samuel 8—start with prayer.