Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.

“Man, I messed up again. I’ll never get it right! I’ll never be good enough for Jesus. He’ll never love me because I’m just not good enough!”

Being enough is something I think most, if not all, of us wrestle with. Not good enough to marry, to have children, to have friends, to be saved by Jesus…Of all of these statements, the only one that is true is the last — we aren’t good enough to be saved by Jesus. What?!? But Colleen, Jesus loves everyone. Yes, He does, but we still aren’t good enough.

You see, that’s the whole point. Nothing we are or do, apart from Jesus, is enough. We could never, ever be good enough to earn His love and His sacrifice. That’s why His love is so incredibly ridiculous! But that’s also where our confidence comes from.

Our sufficiency comes from God. We don’t have to work to be good enough — we ARE good enough in God. That takes so much pressure off.  Romans 4:5 says, “But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.” That gives me so much hope and so much freedom.

Are there times when I feel completely insufficient — of course. This past weekend was one of those times. I oversee the small groups at ACF Church, and yesterday was our big kick off. I am not an event planner — so, so far from it, and it can overwhelm me to be in charge of something so big. I could totally freak out and freeze up. Or more likely, put my “game face” on and totally hurt peoples’ feelings.

But here’s what I know: God is GOOD, and He is in control. I could rest knowing that He loves His people more than I could ever imagine and that He wants them to be in community. Therefore, He’s going to make sure people get connected. Does that mean I can sit back and just let God magically work it all out? Of course not, I had a part to play. I had to play my part and plan and execute those plans to create an environment where God could step in and do what God does — it’s so beautiful.

Here’s the other beautiful thing — God is teaching me that He surrounds me with amazing people to also participate. It doesn’t rest solely on my shoulders. And boy did God come through. When I wasn’t sufficient, I could turn to those God surrounded me with and rely on their strengths and gifts.

When I felt so overwhelmed I wasn’t sure what the next step was, God prompted me to ask for help. And then He provided the perfect people to step in with their gifts and help. And that is what relying on HIS sufficiency looks like. It doesn’t look like sitting back and waiting for things to be handed to you. It looks like opening your hands to the God of the universe, listening for His voice, and following His guidance. And now today, as I sit and consider all the connections that were made last week, I can know that my sufficiency comes from God.

Where do you need to stop striving in your power and your strength and rely on the sufficiency of God? Is there something so big you are facing right now that you know you cannot handle it on your own — this is the perfect opportunity for you to rest in His sufficiency.

God thank You for Your sufficiency! Thank You that You never expected me to be enough, to know enough, to have enough, to be strong enough…and for surrounding me with others to fill in the many, many gaps I have. Thank You that I can stop striving and rest in YOU! In the peace-filled name of Jesus ~ AMEN!