We are a generation of women who have never worked harder to have it all, yet go to bed most nights worrying that we aren’t enough. We are constantly asking “Why?” We are constantly measuring. It doesn’t matter if you’re single, if you’re married, if you’re rich, poor, old, young, in college, or out of college. Every human heart struggles with this. We are always looking around to see how we measure up to everyone around us and usually focusing on all the ways we fall short.
I believe our struggle with wondering if we are enough goes back primarily to how much we trust God. We aren’t struggling because of the specifics of our circ*mstances as much as we are struggling because we fail to trust God to give us what we need, to show us where we are supposed to go and what we are supposed to do. That’s why discontentment surfaces in our lives in all the ways it does.
Deep down, we struggle to believe God is going to lead us to what is best for us. It’s our internal voice that whispers we will never be enough, so we work and worry and feel like we must do something big, something huge to prove our worth and to make sure our life matters. We have to host a conference, start a movement, adopt fifteen kids, or fight human trafficking to really matter. Which are all great things, but thinking this way can cause us to lose sight of the small things that can also change a life: bringing dinner to a sick neighbor, smiling at a waitress who’s having a bad day, reading to your kids before bed, and simply praying for someone going through a rough time.
If you’re like me, you can spend a lot of time looking around at what everyone else has or is doing or all the ways they appear better. We measure. We measure our insides by other people’s outsides—and that’s never a fair assessment. We don’t know what they’re going through, how they have been hurt, or the struggles they face. We see their social-media best selves and assume everybody is winning at life. We are constantly seeing the “Everything’s great!” version of other people’s lives while living the reality of our own lives, which may often feel a little mundane and purposeless.
A few weeks ago, as I was reading my Bible, I ran across some verses that leapt out at me. I can’t even explain how I found myself in Zechariah, because sometimes I can’t remember if it’s a real book of the Bible or one I made up in my head because Zechariah sounds like a name that would be a book of the Bible. I read:
And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ” (Zechariah 2:1-5 ESV)
It hit me that this is what we spend so much time doing. We are constantly measuring our city — is it big enough? Does it need more? How does it compare to other cities? Does my city have the kitchen that looks most likely to get pinned on Pinterest? Do people like my city? I wonder what might happen if we could quit building walls around ourselves and let others see who we really are. To see where we are broken and where we are hurting and where we feel like we aren’t enough. Sometimes when we speak those things out loud, they lose their power, but when we keep them hidden, they grow stronger because we are almost always our own worst critics.
What if we lived as though we truly believed God has given us a life without walls, that He has plans for us that go beyond anything we can measure or imagine and promises to be the glory in our midst?
I believe God wants to make our city — our lives — so big that walls can’t contain it. His idea of big is so different from ours. A God who promises us that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without him knowing is a God who values even the smallest things. He wants us to have peace and contentment that won’t require us to put up walls of protection and spend our lives afraid of being vulnerable and real as we stop compulsively trying to measure the width and depth of our lives. He will be our protection. He will be the wall of fire all around.
He will be the glory in our midst and whisper to us that our lives, no matter how small they may seem to us, are enough because He is enough.
Excerpted with permission from It’s All About the Small Things by Melanie Shankle, copyright Melanie Shankle.
* * *
Your Turn
Isn’t it a relief to know that we can never be “good enough” apart from our Savior – and that He loves us anyway. God wants you just as you are! You are enough, because you were made in the image of God and carry His likeness in You! Come join the celebration of that fact and reality in the conversation on our blog! ~ Laurie McClure, Faith.Full
Like this article? Share it:
Facebook-logo Twitter-logo Pinterest-logo
FAQs
Isn't it a relief to know that we can never be “good enough” apart from our Savior – and that He loves us anyway. God wants you just as you are! You are enough, because you were made in the image of God and carry His likeness in You!
What does God say about you being enough? ›
(Psalm 139:14) As a matter of fact, you have always been enough, every since the beginning. God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good and He validated it completely. (Genesis 1:31) Look down your row and tell them, I am enough and that's that!
Does God think I'm enough? ›
The Bible teaches that God knows that we all mess up and fall short of perfection, but he created us to have a relationship with him and he is always willing to forgive us, accept us and change our lives. You don't need to be a 'religious' person to have that relationship with God.
Am I good enough in God's eyes? ›
When you feel like you are falling short, God is holding you and supporting you. You are enough for God. There's no need to keep trying to be perfect or to listen to the lies from the enemy telling you that you are not enough. He loves you just as you are, and He is on this journey of life with you.
What does the Bible mean when it says enough is enough? ›
There is a point at which God says 'Enough is enough! ' A point where the sin, the evil, the suffering, has reached saturation point. A point where the judgement must and will fall.
What does it mean when someone says you are enough? ›
You are enough means that you were made to be you, as you are, on purpose. It is no mistake that you are this person, in this place, at this time. You are enough as you are, mess and all, beautiful and broken, showing up for your life every day. That's all you have to be and all you have to do. You're already enough.
What does the phrase "I am enough" mean? ›
At its core, the phrase is about self-acceptance and self-worth, and it's about understanding that you are worthy of love, respect, and all of the good things that life has to offer, just as you are.
What is the meaning of God is enough? ›
And our sufficiency, the apostle says, is not of ourselves but of God. This, then, is what I mean by God being enough. It is that we find in Him, in the fact of His existence, and of His character, all that we can possibly want for everything. God is, must be our answer to every question and every cry of need.
What Scripture says God is enough for me? ›
Psalm 73:26 NKJV - God Is Enough For Me.
What does the Bible say about not being enough? ›
Psalm 145:14 reminds us that God upholds us when we fall. Like He did with each of the people in the Bible, He uses our mistakes and failures to teach us more about Him, to show His mercy, and to encourage others as they find themselves unable to measure up. No one in the Bible was “enough” by our culture's standards.
He does this because, as your Heavenly Father, he knows that if you're going to grow spiritually you have to deal with the sin that's in your life. You can't grow closer to God if you're holding onto sin, bad habits, bad choices, and bad patterns.
How do you know God is close to you? ›
Some people may see visions or hear God's voice. Others may not see or hear anything — but experience feelings of peace and joy that are beyond words. You may experience the presence of God through a song or Scripture the Spirit brings to mind. It may be through a providential encounter with a friend or stranger.
What God says about you is enough? ›
1. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. "And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.
What is the greatest sin in God's eyes? ›
One eternal or unforgivable sin (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit), also known as the sin unto death, is specified in several passages of the Synoptic Gospels, including Mark 3:28–29, Matthew 12:31–32, and Luke 12:10, as well as other New Testament passages including Hebrews 6:4–6, Hebrews 10:26–31, and 1 John 5:16.
How do you know God is showing you a vision? ›
A vision always reveals God's glory. When you see His glory and power, how can you help but be left with a sense of your own shortcomings and flaws? A God-given vision will leave you astonished and sometimes even numb for days.
What does the saying "I am enough" mean? ›
At its core, the phrase is about self-acceptance and self-worth, and it's about understanding that you are worthy of love, respect, and all of the good things that life has to offer, just as you are.
What does the Bible say about being more than enough? ›
Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything —every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.
What does God mean when he says my grace is sufficient? ›
Instead, God proclaimed that His grace was fully capable of providing everything Paul needed to endure this suffering. God told Paul that His power is made perfect in weakness. The Greek word for "sufficient" here is arkei, which implies endurance, strength, or satisfaction.
