You Are Enough
From that dreadful day in the Garden when mankind fell from the place God had made for them, people have struggled with an inner nagging that makes them feel unworthy. Like an itch that can’t be scratched we clay creatures are always looking for some sort of feeling, thing, status or person that will tell us we are enough.
Some look for validation in their work, some in the amount of money they make, and a lot of us find it in the “likes’ “shares” and comments on our social media. Just like Eve we just can’t believe that we are enough because of who we are. Her self-doubt caused her to believe the lies the enemy told her. This unscratchable itch drives us to prove our value by our actions.
What makes us enough? If it’s not our perfect beach bodies, the amount of friends we have, the car we drive, the degrees on our walls then what is it? What makes us ok, enough and valuable isn’t what we have or what we do but who we “are”. God created us in His image, after His likeness, and He thinks we are pretty great.
Sharon Jayne’s says it this way, “He is looking for men and women who know they are good enough because of His power working in them and through them. Men and women who know they are not good enough in their own strength but are incredibly powerful in God’s strength. He is looking for courageous believers who will rely on His power to work in and through them to accomplish all He has planned for them to do. He is scouting for followers who will obey Him regardless of their present fears or past failures. God chooses to do extraordinary work through ordinary people who will bring glory to His name.
The Apostle Paul begged God to take away his weakness and what does God tell him, “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians 12:9.
God doesn’t need or expect us to be strong in every way but leaves weakness in us so that we will learn to lean, rely and trust in Him and His strength. Relying on our own strength only makes us prideful and self sufficient, traits God despises. If we could do it all why would we need God?
Our seeming shortcomings serve to show us that, hey maybe I should trust God, maybe I need other people, maybe it takes all of us to get things done, each using our individual gifts and talents to create something beautiful. We were created for community, each taking what he has to build something for us all. Someone needs your gifts, someone needs what you can offer, but not everyone does.
Yep, sometimes we fail and we mess up. But last time I looked failure wasn’t fatal. No one gets it right 100% of the time. Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."
Anyone can feel like a failure, anyone can give up but it takes courage and strength to keep going and to succeed. YOU were created to be an individual, no one is like you and you have gifts, talents, and capabilities unique to only you.
Just because my abilities are not your abilities does not make mine less than, it just makes us different. Different is good. Maybe it’s time to stop looking to others for validation and acceptance and realize that the one and only one that matters, God, already accepts you.
Hey guess what? Another person’s opinion of you is just that, an opinion. It isn’t fact or reality it is simply an opinion, and if you haven’t noticed there isn’t an opinion shortage. I don’t have to wait for anyone to tell me I’m enough to be enough. I am me and you are you and we are enough. You.are.enough