That He fulfills the very desires of our hearts. That when we have God, we have everything. He gives and takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
But when life hurtles down task after task, when we are bone weary, when we find ourselves questioning all the whys, is this still true? Is it true when friends commit suicide or people get so terribly ill or when our world spins out of our control? Is God still enough in the mundane of life? In chores and schoolwork and researching and washing dirty dishes, is God enough?
Visit the mall, and notice the outcropping of these words.
Because so often, words are just facades of the emptiness within. Just a shell of what they should mean. Of what they could mean.
Often, I imagine myself in Auschwitz or in the midst of a gladiator arena, and I wonder if I could die for Christ. In all truthfulness, it's already impossible to mouth the words that God is my everything and that I could live on God alone. Even here today with my dwarf trials and tribulations. But as these Christians voiced these same words, their bodies became mauled and shredded and gassed, their children burned, their whole world ripped apart.
And here we are today. Shedding hope so desperately, so eager to give up and prepare the noose, when Salvation has already shed His atoning blood that we might stand firm.
And here we are today. Shedding hope so desperately, so eager to give up and prepare the noose, when Salvation has already shed His atoning blood that we might stand firm.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
Earthly blessings don't satisfy. Circumstances change, and Job knew this. As one of the richest men alive, the master of countless slaves, owner of thousands of cattle, father and husband to a prosperous family, Job experienced immense wealth during his time. Yet, in less than 24 hours, Job lost everything. Everyone. But God was still enough, and Job recognized that, never blaming Him or cursing Him in his misery.
And so Philippians 4:19 reminds us that God will supply our needs, according to His riches in Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus.
Christ is enough. God is enough.
Though this world, though all these riches may crumble before our eyes, though friends may desert us and loved ones waver and fade, He stands true for us. Forever. He intercedes on behalf of our weakness, our Mediator who embodies eternal hope and atonement for our darkest sins. When our world collapses, when we cannot understand, we can stand firm on the Rock of our salvation.
In our all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving heavenly Father, we rest assured, knowing that storms only occur in the palm of His hand.
And so God is enough.
He provides strength, each day, every day. When I cannot understand, when I cannot tame my own anger or jealousy, when I desperately thirst for His joy, I simply ask for grace, believing in my Heavenly Father and His perfect plan for those who love Him.
Some of you may know that I struggled with depression. I put a d on the end of "struggled" because its intensity has drastically declined over the years. However, God utilized and manipulated my depression to teach me that He is enough. Those times when everything felt unreasonable or incredibly irritating or stressful, those hours spent crying were times when God made me dependent on Him.
And even now. Recently, I've understood that I'm not in control of life. Things happen, and some days it's hard to trust in His plan and satisfy my thirsty soul in God alone. Yet He is enough, as the Master and Perfecter of our faith who builds us up in Him, who directs the control panel of life with joystick in hand, who works all things for His glory and for our good.
It is a beautiful thing to be dependent on Him.
It's a beautiful thing to be dependent on the One who made all things, who provides all things, who works all things to His glory.
It's beautiful.
And the more we depend on Him, the more we realize that He is enough. The more we hunger for Him, the more satisfied we are with His goodness and holiness. The more desperately we search for Him, the ever more glorious we find Him.
So tonight, I'm falling on my knees. Begging God above to open up the creaky hinges of my heart and make me totally reliant on Him. To discover Him in all His glorious perfection, so His majesty can satisfy the trivial cravings of my heart.
God, be enough for me.
