Howdy y’all!
Last week we moved my Grandmother to a city close to me. Thus, I’ve gotten to visit her on a more regular basis. She is stuck in a bed, pretty much all day, every day. If I ever think I have a reason to complain, I think, “she has MORE reason to complain.” So as we chat about a little bit of everything, one theme has stuck out to me in our conversations: Contentment.
The one thing that has rung repeatedly in my spirit has been: He is Enough.
He is enough when I am lonely in a new place.
He is enough when I have friends a plenty.
He is enough when my budget seems tight (Murphy’s Law: The bigger your budget, the bigger your bills”).
He is enough when I have money to give away.
He is enough when I have “I feel fat” days (TELL me you have them too!)
He is enough when I feel like I’m beat up emotionally.
He is enough when I feel the need for security.
He is enough when the sun is shiny and the world is all “as it should be.”
He is enough.
HE IS ENOUGH
He’s got it.
He supplies all of my needs ABUNDANTLY.
So how do these words of “He is enough” fit with reality? There are oft times when I can SAY He is enough, but I don’t FEEL like He’s supplying them abundantly. Sometimes I don’t “feel” like it’s abundant because I’m having a little bit of an emotionally crazy day…that’s been known to happen a time or two. OR sometimes He’s in the PROCESS of meeting those needs. Dr. Tony Evans says: “We might have periods of loneliness, but we are never alone.” God might allow us to have that feeling of loneliness at times. But reality is: We are never alone. And if we press in for more of His Presence, we won’t FEEL that loneliness. In the same way, we might have periods of abundant need, but He doesn’t leave me needy. I might have seasons where it seems my needs far outweigh His providence. I often feel like He needs to provide one thing or another, only to find He remains silent for a few minutes. As a single gal, I’m well-versed in this understanding of loneliness aka a need. (Btw, I hear you married gals sometimes struggle with it too!) A few years ago a friend taught me this little trick: “Annetta, every time I feel lonely or needy, I just take that feeling to The Lord. Sometimes He meets it in a pretty cool way. And sometimes He seems to leave it be and I feel it more keenly. But at the end of the day, I’ve laid it in His court to meet that need. He created me to need Him. So, He also took the ownership of meeting that need. That’s His job, so I just let Him at it.”
I remember going to my dad as a teenager and asking for money for a movie. Problem was, I had a fight with him earlier in the day. I wouldn’t look him in the eye. Rather, my attention was raptly focussed on what his hand was pulling out of his wallet. When he pulled out the money, he held it in front of his face. I had to look at him to get it. He wanted me to care more about the giver than the gift. He wanted me to be in relationship with him, not just use him like an atm machine. My Heavenly Father is the same…He wants me to want the Giver, WAY more than the gift. Why? Because the gift will fail…it will go away pretty quickly. But relationship with Him lasts forever. It centers me. THAT is my great need…because He CREATED IT TO BE MY GREAT NEED.
St. Augustine says, “Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee; for Thou hast formed us for Thyself and our hearts are restless til they find rest in Thee.” I love this! My heart only finds it’s true home when it is abiding in Him.
Ok, last thought on this…When chatting with my Grandmother on contentment, Paul’s secret of contentment in Philippians 4 came up. Paul ends the passage with that so familiar verse, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The secret of my SOUL knowing He is Enough? To daily find strength in Him. To eat my daily bread from His Body. To not do it on my own. To do what I am called to do…and to let HIM do what HE is called to do. I can’t worry about HIS job and still get my job done properly. He wants me to eat at His table of abundance…His presence being the bread…His cup being my resource. He wants to meet my needs in His Presence….beFORE He provides via His Hand. (By the way, Priscilla expands more on this verse in her teaching FIVE.)
These days I find myself, more and more, being filled by The Word. Most of the needs are still present. But His Presence far outshines the feeling. And while I’ve got my eyes on His face, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion He’s actively at work to meet all those other needs, in His own perfect-for-me way.
Love y’all…finding myself in Him…praying the same for you,
annetta
