Here comes life and all that comes with it! What do we do when we’re facing various circumstances? How do we handle life? How do we know where to turn? We begin to ask ourselves in the midst of our distress, “Is God enough”? That question should really be followed by the question, “What does that mean”? Let’s explore what we really mean when we think about God being enough.
- Is God enough? = Will God fix it?
Have you ever thought of God as a handyman? We certainly treat Him like He is. When we have a problem we want Him to swoop in and fix it. We want him to perform like the auto correct button on our computer. There are times when God fixes the problem or even takes it away but we have to ask ourselves if God would be enough without the fix.
- Is God enough? = Can God make me feel better?
We rely so much on our feelings. We want to feel good. So if there are problems in our life we just want God to make us feel better. It’s as if God is our own personal court jester. We want God to perform for us in a way that relieves our bad feelings. We want to feel better no matter what it takes. Most times, in order to feel better, God needs to perform for us by taking away our problem. But, that isn’t the way God always works so would God be enough in the midst of the bad feelings?
- Is God enough? = Will God send me a person?
People are very important to us. We were made for relationship. The idea of having someone to talk to or someone to be with is very attractive to us. Sometimes the Lord allows the removal of someone from our life for many different reasons. We look to God as a personnel service to provide a person to replace the one lost. The truth is there will never be another person exactly like the one lost. Would God be enough?
- Is God enough? = Will God give me a way out of this?
Sometimes we have consequences in which we are living because of our choice or our sin. During this time we desire for God to be the basketball guard who will protect us from that ball of consequences hitting us. The consequences of sin happen for a reason. God uses the consequences to drive us to Himself. Is God enough even when He doesn’t guard us against consequences?
The dictionary defines the word enough as “occurring in such quantity, quality, or scope as to fully meet demands, needs, or expectations”. That’s the real question, “Is God meeting demands, needs and expectations”? We can see where we get all of the interpretations of the question when we look at the definition. Is it God’s job to meet out demands? Is God to meet our perceived needs? Is God a fulfiller of our expectations? No, no and no. Let’s see how God is enough for us.
“The LORD is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all and his mercy is over all that he has made.” Psalm 145:8-9
The Lord God is our creator and we are here for His glory and pleasure. We are reminded in these verses that our creator cares and desires good for all He has made. He made man in His image and breathed the breath of life into him. Mankind is the only part of God’s creation that can reflect God. We have the privilege to go through life knowing that God is enough. How do we know He’s enough? Because He says He is. As we hit the walls of hardship, consequences, illness, pain or grief, we read that God is good and has mercy for us. He gives us grace to the overflow when we need it. He doesn’t leave us alone but walks through our life with us. The enough is not about what we want but what we are given in the midst of life. We are given all we need and more because of God’s gracious love for His children.
So what do we do when life hits us with another curve ball? We remind ourselves of who God is, what He has done, and all He provides for us. That curve ball may hit us smack in the stomach knocking the wind out of us. We may be struggling to breath deep and feeling the pain of it. But God knows, understands, and wants to use this curve ball to get our attention. As we turn our face toward Him breathless, He gently holds us up until we can breathe again.
