Is Jesus Enough?
In this race we run called life, we turn to many things to fulfill our “needs.” Often what we ignore is what we need the most, Jesus. We fixate on material distractions and forget our Heavenly Father, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. We forget Jesus sits patiently, waiting for us to respond to His desire for communication with us. While we seek out desires of the flesh, we come up empty and run ourselves ragged. We reach for things that do not satisfy, then despair is created and Satan takes the reigns. We are ashamed to turn to our Father in Heaven because we feel unworthy. I have news for you, you are unworthy. I am unworthy. Our sin creates a barrier between us and God and without remedy, we will succumb to it and be apart from God.
Regardless of what sins we commit, ignoring God leads to the shame we experience when we finally realize we must return to Him.
Think about your childhood when you did something you knew your parents would not approve of. Maybe you lied, maybe you yelled at them, maybe you broke the rules because you thought you could get away with it. When one or both of your parents confronted you with their disapproval and/or punishment, how did you feel? Maybe your parent(s) directed you to your room to contemplate your actions, to later return after letting you “think about what you did.” They may have hugged you with loving words to remind you everything would be ok. How did you feel after that? I can remember multiple occasions in which I disobeyed as a child and even as an adult. I recall groveling back to my parents with my head hung low apologizing and often crying tears of shame. Every single time this happened, I can vividly see how my mother or father would take me in their arms, hug me, tell me they loved me and offer their forgiveness.
As children of God, no matter what age, because of our human sin nature, we will always do things which are sinful. Sometimes its accidental, sometimes on purpose, but a truly saved soul will always feel the pain we cause to our Father. Sometimes it’s identified sooner, other times we fester in our sin and later come to terms with our actions. Again, as a child we are so undeserving of forgiveness, but God Himself has extended something called grace. He wraps us up in His arms, embraces us and tells us He loves us. The grace of God is something I will never understand. How can a perfect God love me so much? Why would He choose too? Remember God sent Jesus and Jesus willingly died for us, because the love of His Father was so overwhelming He could not say no. We do not have to understand it, only accept.
Now I realize there are some of you out there who maybe did not grow up with loving parents, two parents or even any parents. I will not discount your experience and I do not know your situation or how you have struggled in your life with parental figures. I do know this, your earthly parents were chosen for you, but they do NOT define you. More importantly, they do not define who your Heavenly Father is. I am praying healing over you. I know with certainty I cannot understand what you may have experienced and your struggles are not ignored. Jesus is perfect. PERIOD. End of story. He loves you, He chose you, He died for you. HE IS ENOUGH.
How do we make Him enough in our own life?
Jesus says in Matthew 11:28 if we are tired and weary, we need only to come to him and He will give us rest.
Jesus also says in 1 Peter 5:7 to cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us.
The most important advice I can share about this, is time. Spending time with Jesus every day is crucial. How do you have a relationship with your husband, wife, mother, father, best friend or even your dog? You spend time with them right? How do we grow a relationship with Jesus? Time. Set aside time every day to talk to Him. Figure out what that looks like for you. You can sit and journal, you can extol Him with praises, sing/sign songs, memorize scripture and pray. These are all ways to get closer to God. Start off with 15 mins a day. It does not have to be in the morning, or right before bed. Life gets busy, but set aside time every day to talk to Jesus. Find a spot in your house to be your spot with God. Maybe it is on the couch, in your backyard or a park. Make sure it is a place you will frequent every day and pass by every day. Sit comfortably. Turn off your phone, computer and have your bible with you. Tell God whatever is on your mind and ask Him to teach you. Be still, quiet and wait for Him to guide you on what that looks like for you in those moments. There is no structured way to spend time with God. How I do it might look different for me than it will look for you. God knows your heart and will meet you wherever you are. God also REJOICES over the time you spend with Him and loves to be with you.
Jesus is enough. He will never be enough if we keep Him on the shelf behind our dusty books and pull Him out when we “need” something. Let Jesus be your friend and when all else fails in life, remember HE cares. Do not buy into the lies of the enemy. JESUS CARES FOR YOU. Think about those four words and thank Him for all He has done for you.
I am guilty of selfishness and at times not making much of Jesus. Making changes in our selfish habits can be tough, but if I can do it anyone can. Jesus will always be enough, but you have to take the first step.