You Are Enough

Hey you.

You with the gas gauge flirting with E.  You with the split ends because you can’t afford a haircut every six weeks.  You with the screaming kids making a scene in the middle of the grocery store.  You with the burnt out lightbulbs.  You with the clocks that never quite spring ahead or fall back when they’re supposed to.  You with the broken iPhone screen.  You that completely forgot you had to bake cookies for your child’s bake sale. You that just tripped in front of a fairly large audience. You with the car full of half empty water bottles.  You that struggles to keep a plant alive.  You that just cheated on your diet with the dollar board.  You with the crumbled up receipts in the bottom of your purse.  You that isn’t so successful at love.  You that just received bad news. You that’s struggling paycheck to paycheck.  You that can’t seem to catch a break.

I’m talking to you.  Yes,  you.

God sees your struggles.  He knows when you’re trying.  He knows when you’re giving it your all.  He knows when you’ve surrendered all to him.  He knows when you’re putting others above yourself. He knows life on earth isn’t easy.

However, He’s given us the hope of Heaven and the promise that he will guide us in the here and now.  He wants us to have joy in the midst of our circumstances.  He wants us to focus on Him instead of our problems.  He wants to cover our shortfalls.

Maybe a completely balanced, completely organized life just isn’t going to happen for you. Maybe it isn’t supposed to.  Maybe that’s where faith comes in.  Maybe that’s just another way we humble ourselves before Him and others.  Maybe that’s just another way we partner up with Him and allow him to be the driver.  Maybe He just knows we just can’t do it all no matter how hard we try.

Now, that’s not to say that we can’t improve every day.  That’s not to say we shouldn’t be disciplined. That’s not to say we shouldn’t do serious inventories of our lives as much as possible.  That’s not to say we shouldn’t get organized.  That’s not to say we shouldn’t be good stewards of our finances.  That’s not to say we have an excuse to be lazy or to procrastinate the important things.  That’s definitely not to say that we shouldn’t strive for more overall.  We SHOULD do all of those things.  He does want us to take care of ourselves, however.  He does want to finish the work he’s started in us. His word says so in Philippians 1:6.

Here’s a thought though…..possibly a whole new way of thinking that you’re not quite used to: Stop being so hard on yourself for a change.  Celebrate your successes and praise Him for your progress.  Do what you can in His strength….not your own.  Once you do that, treat yourself to something fun and spiritually positive.  Then go to bed proud of the seeds you’ve sown, believing those seeds will reap a harvest (Galatians 6:9).  Then rise again and repeat.  Remember His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).  His grace is sufficient for you, and His strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).  He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).

Remember these things as you go through your day.

Hey you.  You are enough…….because He is more than enough.