He Is Enough
Disclaimer:Nothing in this blog post is intended to be considered medical or mental health advice or treatment. It’s written from the perspective of the author’s lived experience and reflects personal views expressed with the intent to encourage and share hope.
When the path narrows and steepens
Sometimes the pace of a good walk on the right path slows down so we can sit and catch our breath right before we get back up again and VAULT over the sticks and stones in our way.
I used to run, bike, and hike a lot. You might be familiar with the rush of adrenaline and the varying levels of fatigue and strain if you enjoy those activities too. You might find the challenges quite satisfying and worthwhile as well.
There can be lots of jumping or running on forest trails, and just as much slowing to a walk, climb, or rest before moving on.
As the path narrows and steepens, and we choose our steps more carefully, we might feel like we are losing time, but we are really building strength. We are so, so close to the end of the path. Stopping can feel like we are going to lose time that can be spent on another thing later in the day, but sometimes it’s what we need.
As our lungs ache and the muscles in our legs strain while we move upward or downward, we are gaining strength and increasing our faith in what is possible.
A pause for a rest, stretch, or hydration is not a sign of weakness–if you’re used to this kind of activity, you know it’s a sign of wisdom to pause and care for your needs.
Even on the literal trail, we can ask for help. “Do I need to turn back? Do I need to call for help? Can I push forward?” We likely don’t need to ask if we just need water or rest, but we could.
Sometimes we don’t know what help we might need, so we don’t know what to ask.
Instead of linking up with those who are not even interested in the journey, or people who will talk us out of it, we can respect ourselves and the One who gives us purpose, call on Jesus, and let ourselves be refreshed along the way.
We have help
While God has sovereignty, He also chose to give us personal autonomy and decision-making skills. We are equipped with the Holy Spirit to help us make good decisions.
The goals we entrust to God–even the ones we are doing because of our love of God or our desire to share about God–may sometimes require us to remember that we are human and we need to avail ourselves of rest, help, a new heart posture, deeper connection with God, or something else.
We lack nothing, even when our natural life appears to contradict this idea.
The moment we choose to receive all that Jesus has done for us, we step into a new era on our timeline.
Not only do we now have salvation through Jesus, the Holy Spirit as a helper, and the ear of our Father who hears our prayers…but we are also covered by God’s love and His covenantal promises.
If you are unsure what is meant by a “God promise”, what I’m referring to are:
The words spoken about God and His character
The things God or His prophets have spoken that stay the same no matter what—just like God
It’s a good thing to look for while studying or committing to personal quiet time where we meditate on the scriptures. If you’re new to looking in the Bible for God’s promises, you may want to start in the New Testament, because that’s where we can find the beautiful reminder that we are never separated from the love of God once we are one with Christ. We can see that in Romans 8:1-15.
That alone is enough—Jesus is enough.
It used to blow my mind every time I read it, and sometimes it still does. I don’t have to be “enough” or always striving, not only because Jesus was the only perfect person ever, but because He paid the steepest price already. It’s a price we could not pay even if we were trillionaires or beyond.
His promises are good
When we’re out on the trail and trying to grow in our skills, abilities, and talents…we are presented with many opportunities to reflect on God’s goodness. We see what He has created, what we can do, and we are filled with awe and joy.
It’s a wonderful moment to consider some of the promises of God, as well as other unconditional facts of God, and create that memory of thinking upon it while we were on our walk. We may be talking with someone later in the week and the walk comes up, and we get a chance to “teach” or share what we learned. This can stimulate our minds to continue calling up that memory as it’s needed–and we bless someone else.
A key promise to remember at all times is that God is enough. He is perfectly enough in a way that fills in where we have done all that we could.
He is sufficient:
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 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. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (ESV)
That was the Apostle Paul talking about the thorn in his flesh, something that he stated was hurting him. He chose to see it as a chance to trust in God no matter what. This is relevant for us, because sometimes there are consequences of old actions or other things outside of our control that we might be tempted to see as disqualifiers or deficiencies preventing us from meeting our goals. It’s important not to become disheartened by these things or by others’ perceptions of these things. God is either enough or He is not. We know that there is never a time that He won’t be enough. So it’s settled!
Jesus paid the price for our sins:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:16-18 (ESV)
He carried the weight of all our sins as if it were His own, although He was blameless and could have done something entirely different. This is one of the facts that was always striking to me as a new believer, because I had been taught something very different about who Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are. No one else can replicate what He did–even if they wanted to. Not one of us could be on a cross and achieve the same goal for the rest of humanity, once and for all time, and not one of us could promise everlasting life with Him. So we definitely could not earn our salvation, and don’t need to be weighed down by sins. We can relinquish them, repent of them, and shut the doors through which sin would come to us.
His grace is enough:
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:4-10 (ESV)
That same grace God extends to us is meant to be extended to the people in our lives—even Aunt Jill who often finds something cutting to say at the Thanksgiving meal, or Uncle Jed who keeps forgetting that we don’t watch those blooper reels in this house, because we don’t like to make fun of anyone who gets hurt.
It also applies to us and how we think of our own mistakes, or when we outright sin and fall short. Sure, it doesn’t always feel so great to sit with the thoughts and ideas that come to mind when our mistakes involve other people. When we know we’ve really let ourselves and others down, it’s human to be sad about it and to recognize that it was wrong and not reflecting God’s character within us or to others.
But in each of those passages is a promise–God loves us, and if we are really with Him, we are forgiven. We need to repent, do it no more, and if we can, try to make it right somehow.
Go to Aunt Jill and apologize for telling her to baste it if she wants to. Go to Uncle Jed and apologize for the way you put him down while explaining that you don’t like watching people get hurt. It might not change them the way it often does in the movies, but it will definitely change you, and God will see you trying for real. He might even honor your efforts and cause the Internet to go down just as Uncle Jed whips out his phone, but more likely, He will inspire you to new levels of patience and grace.
Sometimes it feels like we are always extending that grace, but remember…so is God…and He never gets tired of us the way we do of ourselves or others.
What if I keep falling and I’m tired of getting up again?
Well, I would like to say I’ve never fallen, but I can’t. I’ve lost count of literal falls, and haven’t joined with anyone else in counting the figurative ones.
What’s important is that we don’t stay stuck there on the ground looking at the beauty all around us like something we must now miss out on, stunned, broken-hearted, and unwilling to get back up or let others help us if we need it.
There are things we may need to work on after certain kinds of mistakes are made–even when it’s not on our end. Some things it is not on us to make right, but we need to keep our hearts right and not hold onto it or keep account of it.
Sometimes…we are the exact reason we fell.
This doesn’t mean we now and forever must walk with our heads down and forget about being a Christian.
It means we need God even more than we thought we did when we did those things, and the good news is…He’s there.
We all get tired sometimes, and God knows it. We can go to Him with that too.
We can break every bad habit we want to break, as long as we can identify who we have been in the problem and want to solve it by being who God says we are. We can start anew with a healing heart and mind, continually giving thanks and remembering that we are not alone.
God is with us…and He is enough.
Be patient…and keep going
When we are learning perseverance and finding out how strong God has made us, we are also often learning specific ways of doing life that may be foreign or uncomfortable for us…like how to love ourselves or one another, what moments to pause and only say what we know for sure instead of what we believe at the time.
It can be a time when we encounter self-made stumbling blocks all over the path, along with a few from well-intentioned folks and people who don’t believe in God (or us) the way we want to do.
Remember though: when we were learning to ride bikes, we didn’t stay there on the ground when we fell. No way. We got back up, got back on the bike, and kept going till the moment we were coasting down a path on our own and laughing with great joy.
We begin to change as we gain more confidence and trust. Not all at once, but over time and life experience with God.
Whatever felt so diminishing of you in the dirt and mud is gone as you stand up with your head held high and keep going how you are meant to be. Bitter thoughts dissipate rather than waiting for the right chance to be expelled. Love, hope, and life spring up in place of fear or darkness that once overshadowed goodness.
When we understand how very much God loves us, we are strengthened, uplifted, and emboldened to live more freely. You can walk uprightly everywhere, knowing you have been refined now more than before…and you still are.
His work is not done in any of us yet, but God is faithful to complete it.
You may have a long life ahead of you, and you might make more mistakes along the way.
Be patient with yourself. Be patient with others. Most of all, be patient with God. He is looking after your best interests for your entire life.
Reflection
What God promises or unconditional statements of truth about God can you find in the Bible today that will empower you to live your best life right now?
Who else needs to be reminded that God’s not done with them yet, that they can step into the freedom God offers to them?
Could you share some of God’s promises with someone who needs encouragement today?
Prayer
Thank You, Father, for loving _______________ so very much that You could not let _______________ stay the same as they were. Thank You for Your faithfulness to work continuously and see that Your will is done in _______________’s life.
May ________________ begin to recognize the great works You are doing within and through them, and know that they are truly living in union with Christ.
May ________________ live like they know You love them, and while being honest about everything they do, also extend to others and to themselves the same grace they have received to give to others.
If there are any doors of sin or memories of old mistakes needing to be closed so that Your perfect love can be felt inhabiting that space, thank You for revealing it to _________________. We pray for Your perfect will to be done in all things concerning _________________. In the perfect name of Jesus, amen.
Closing Thoughts
We have the help we need, and when we turn to God, He is more than able to meet us where we are and finish the good work He has begun. Wherever we may go, He is with us, and we know He works all things for the good of those who are called to Him.
