“Enough” came the whisper on the wind.
As quickly as the word came, I batted it away as you would an annoying fly on a hot summer’s day.
My mind processed the word “enough” so quickly and spit it back out, I imagine that even God was surprised.
God is not surprised. He knows the deepest parts of my heart and waits patiently even as I avoid, hide from and skirt the issue of becoming enough. I work harder at believing I am not worthy than I do working on the truth of who God created me to be.
When I turn away from the truth God shares that I am becoming enough, He gently cups my chin with His hands and says over and over “You are enough.” I am a work in progress and God loves nothing more than to be part of the process of me becoming me.
The old me reacts and dismisses the word “enough” as if I never heard the word or believe it describes me. The new me pauses, listens intently and turns to God in a posture of questioning “is this me”? And other times I receive this gift in humble acceptance.
But how do I make the shift from believing I am enough all of the time and not just some of the time?
The answer to this question only comes from God. He continues to teach me how to maneuver this path of becoming enough.
Here is what I am learning:
Spending time in God’s Word fills the space between not enough and enough.
When I started reading the Bible in earnest, God took me to Psalm 139. I cannot get enough of the encouragement in these words.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16
God loves every detail about me and created a unique me that is like no other. That sounds like “enough” to me!
God wrote my story even before I was born. That is love! When I hide the real me, God knows those intimate details and loves me through my doubts and questioning. Read through the words of Psalm 139 again. How can you not know how much God loves you as He chose everything about you – eye color, hair color, birthmarks, the shape of fingers and toes. This is God’s greatest joy and then after He picked out each detail, He scripted a unique story and named it Mary, Linda, Beth, John, Mark or Matt. This is love!
[Tweet “Let go of not enough&grab the truth that shouts enough because God claimed it for you first. “]
Believing we are enough comes when we hand over the rough edges of our brokenness for God to smooth and refine with his love. It is knowing we are always in a state of becoming and that is okay. God loves our messy, beautiful selves.
Next time you feel “not enough”-name the lie that invades your soul. Turn away and claim God’s truth. Thank God for new mercies each day and bottomless patience. Grab the truth that shouts “enough” because God claimed it for you first.
Holley Gerth extends this invitation in her new book, Fiercehearted.
Let’s be the heroinesin our own wild,imperfect, glorious stories.Never the understudiesfor someone else’s.
Today we have a God who wants us to know we are enough. There is nothing about us He doesn’t love dearly. Mistakes come and go, but God never does.
Prayers that you feel enough throughout this week!
Come join me as I share some of this encouragement at Christina Hubbard’s today and catch her beautiful Write 31 days series.
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If you liked this post, I wrote a companion piece this past weekend. Click here to read.
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The beautiful picture with the word “enough” is from my friend Jennifer. She is an artist, writer and all around encourager. Please check out her beautiful work at Studio JRU. I am so honored to have this beautiful piece hanging above my fireplace in my new home.
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You can purchase Holley Gerth’s new book, by clicking below.
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I also have one copy of Holley Gerth’s new book, Fiercehearted to giveaway. I will randomly choose one reader who leaves a comment to have a chance to win. I will choose a winner this Sunday, Oct. 15. 🙂
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Please bear with me as I am experiencing some formatting issues with this post. It is being fixed.
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Come join me as I link up with these favorites here.
I struggle with this truth, still to this day. Some days I feel so worthless and like I can’t do anything right. But He’s always right here to remind me that in Him I am enough. Thank you for reminding me of this truth. And I LOVE the artwork Jennifer did for you!
This is such great advice, my friend. God’s Word truly is the answer. I’ve struggled with feeling like I’m enough my entire life. Becoming a Christian and beginning to read through the Bible has helped tremendously. But I’m still quite a work in progress ;). I’m always encouraged by your words here, Mary. Thank you.
It is so easy to believe the lie we are not enough. We see it everywhere around us and we fall into the comparison trap. I am still a work in progress too and will be for the rest of my life. Thank you for being here and for leaving me such sweet words of encouragement.
Mary,
I HAVE to stay in God’s Word to be constantly reminded that I am “enough”. As soon as I step into my day, the world assaults me with reminders that I’m not measuring up. All you have to do is look on Facebook to instantly feel like a failure in some fashion. Joining with you in keeping our eyes focused on where our true identity and knowing we are enough comes from!
Blessings,
Bev xx
Amen! God’s truth is found in His word and I also need to spend more time with God. We are surrounded by all of the shouts of the world that want to tell us differently but God knows the truth. We are stronger together so knowing you are with me as we focus on God and who He says we are helps me. You are such a dear!
Through Christ, Mary, we definitely are enough! Thank you for inspiring us to bat away those lies that we are not enough like they are flies buzzing around our heads. That’s such a powerful illustration because that’s how they feel–annoying and distracting us like crazy! But also as insignificant as a fly compared to the HUGE power we have in the Lord! So glad to see you back in action here!
Lies are like annoying flies. I’m not sure why I let them continue when I could easily swat them away. God is stronger and His power is sovereign. I need to keep this visual present when I am starting to feel like not enough. God can easily take care of a fly. Love having you here and I love being back!
We are enough only because He is enough and we are in Him. All our righteousness is really His, but that’s the great exchange. We get to exchange our broken sinfulness for His perfect righteousness. Alleluia!
Thank you for sharing God’s truth. I needed your reminder that my brokenness is exchanged for God’s righteousness. I am truly blessed. So good to see you here today!
Why is it so difficult to believe I am enough? I’m trying to practice present over perfect but I still struggle with doing enough, being enough…So thankful I am unconditionally loved by God, who knows me better than I know myself. Loved how you wrote the truth of how we can know this without a doubt.
I am also thankful that God loves me dearly no matter what. That is a truth I can hold onto. I am definitely a work in progress and I am thankful for God’s patience in the process. Praying you feel and know you are enough no matter what. Blessings my friend!
Year’s ago I learned the saying, “I did the best I could for what I knew at the time.” So the messiness, the mistakes often made from brokenness was always ‘enough.’ Believe me, I still beat myself up from time to time! Remembering I’m perfectly imperfect is helpful, and that ‘my imperfect, glorious’ story is not over! Hopping over to check out your link. You’ve had a full weeks of writing it looks like!
Such great perspective. I need to make your words, I did the best I could for what I knew at the time, my mantra. I am way too hard on myself. Grace is easily given to others but not always to myself. Imperfectly perfect is who I am and I love the reminder that my story is not over yet. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Enough is a scary thing to say about ourselves, but it is a beautiful truth in Christ. “I am a work in progress and God loves nothing more than to be part of the process of me becoming me.” Amen! Thanks, Mary.
Why should enough be scary?? God created us and we are already enough in Him. It’s a truth I need to not only know but believe about myself. I appreciate you being here and I pray we take the time to let God show us we are enough in Him.
I work harder at believing I am not worthy than I do working on the truth of who God created me to be. – Ahhh you nailed it!!
Yes! I wonder why I waste energy on something that God must be scratching his head over. He knows I’m worthy because he created me that way. Whew! I have so much to learn still. Blessed you joined me today.
I can identify so much with this, Mary. I, too, am such a work in progress. “Thank God for new mercies each day and bottomless patience.” Amen! Thank you for encouraging my heart today. Your photos, too, are so beautiful and refreshing, also the art work. Love and hugs to you!
I am glad we are works in progress together Trudy! Don’t you love that bottomless patience part of God??
Thank you for your kind words about my photos. It is such a blessing for me when I can capture a piece of God’s beauty.Love and hugs to you sweet friend!
I also love Psalm 139- it is a great reminder that God formed us and made us, that we are enough because he created us as we are. It is encouraging to remember that he accepts us even with the mess and brokenness.
Psalm 139 contains my life verse-fearfully and wonderfully made. And God is so good to remind us that He loves us so much that he wrote our stories. I pray we all know and believe that God loves in wholeness, brokenness, worthiness and unworthiness. Blessed to have you here!
Such an important reminder. I think many of us think we aren’t enough.
I imagine there are more of us than we even know who question are worth. I pray your Write 31 Days is going well.
This: “Believing we are enough comes when we hand over the rough edges of our brokenness for God to smooth and refine with his love. It is knowing we are always in a state of becoming and that is okay.” – Yes! Not feeling we are enough creates a self-poverty that starves our souls! Your message goes straight to my heart, Mary!
~ Maryleigh
I am blessed this message resonated with you. It is a topic I could write on often because it is so much a part of how I am wired. God is working very hard to change how I view myself and believe it or not it is working. I pray you feel God’s goodness each day and know without a doubt how much He loves you.
Amen, love this!!
Thank you! Knowing who we are and being willing to share that with others is what helps us to know we are enough just as God made us.
Do you suppose that one of the reasons your mind rejects the word “enough” is that it has been turned into a lie in circles that exalt the human spirit without taking into account our brokenness? We know in our hearts that we can never be enough without the power of God, and that our best efforts are “filthy rags.”
So, we make the same mistake — while the misguided look at their efforts and say “good enough,” we choose our own wrong path by ALSO looking at our own righteousness instead of the gift of God’s goodness imputed to us by the death of His Son.
So thankful, Mary, for this post that reminds me of the truth that there is “therefore, now, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!”
(And the art from your friend is just lovely, and the color scheme even matches your blog! Pretty amazing accomplishment to have your house and your writing home match!)
Thank you for digging a little deeper and getting me to look at becoming enough differently. Your comment goes along perfectly with what I am studying at BSF on Romans. The Jews and Gentiles both looked at themselves first in many instances and Paul came along to try to teach them that they will find righteousness only in God. We live in a world where we try to figure it out on our own instead of taking it to God first.
I love how you added so much to this conversation. I also love that my artwork matches my blog. I am in love with teal these days so it is showing up everywhere.