Am I Enough?
Am I doing enough?
What if I’m not enough?
“You Cannot give away what you do not own.”
~Apostle Paul
These are the questions that often plague our thinking and keep us hostage to coming up short to all we are or can be. We often believe the toxic lies the world feeds us: You’re not smart enough, you’re not strong enough, you’re not old enough, you’re too old, you’re not pretty enough, you’re too bossy, and the list goes on. And worse we often tell ourselves lies picking up where the world leaves off.
What is enough? And why is it so coveted?
In Luke 10, the Bible talks about two sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus went to the house of these two sisters to teach one day. Mary chose to sit at His feet and receive from His teachings while Martha chose to work tirelessly to serve Him. Martha wanted everything to be perfect and began to get frustrated because she was doing all the work and her sister wasn’t helping. She said to Jesus, “Jesus, will You tell Mary to get up and come help me? There’s so much that needs to be done here, and I’m the one doing all the work.”
Now, how often do we have the same attitude Martha did? “Jesus, do You see how hard I’m working? Do You see how overwhelmed I am? Do You notice how much I’m doing for You?” I think Jesus would respond to us today in the same way He responded to Martha. In essence He said to her, “Martha, that’s great that you have such a strong work ethic, but Mary is doing the right thing. She is doing what is needed.” Mary chose to take time to be in Jesus’ presence. She knew she needed to take the opportunity to receive personally from Him, so she set everything else aside to focus on Him.
Every person needs to take time to receive, to be refreshed and built up so we can become more like Jesus and live more effective lives. Sometimes we think we are doing a good thing by staying busy all the time, but we aren’t changed by activity, we are changed by encountering Almighty God. If we are constantly on the go, “running on empty,” not only are we cheating ourselves, we are cheating our families and the people around us because we aren’t able to give them our best or minister to their needs the way God intends. We can’t give what we don’t have. We have to receive from the Father so that we have something to give to the people we encounter day in and day out.
If you have ever flown in a commercial airplane, then you have heard the flight attendants informing passengers about airplane exits, emergency lighting, flotation devices and oxygen masks. The flight attendant will say something like this: “Place the oxygen mask over your nose and mouth before assisting children or those around you.” In the same way, we have to put our spiritual oxygen masks on, so to speak, by connecting to the Breath of Life, our Heavenly Father.
Today and every day, take time to sit at the feet of Jesus. Let Him refresh and renew you. Put your “oxygen mask” on! Let Him share His deep secrets with you and set you on the path of life, peace and victory all the days of your life!
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30, NKJV).
There are simple solutions to free you from lifelong sabotaging:
- Every morning, when you brush your teeth or your hair, face yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I am enough.” Being consistent rewires the brain and will change your life. People often scoff at this simple method, but studies have proven it works. Don’t add things to it. Don’t say it internally. Speak aloud, “I am enough.” Allowing your ears to hear what your mouth is declaring makes a difference.
- Be a student of who you are created to be: know you’re gifting, your personality, your place in the world. Be aware you will grow and change, but be who you are created to be today until you change.
How God sees us much like the lover sees the other:
Psalms 139:13-14
13 For You created my innermost parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, because [a]I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
Song of Solomon 4:7
“You are altogether beautiful my darling, and there is no blemish on you.”
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How do you build a “I’m enough” attitude?
Proverbs 19:8
“He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will find good.” (MEV)
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
“4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it [a]keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails;” (NASB)
- Practice Self-Care
What is self-care? The practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Exhaustion serves no one and least of all you. You cannot be a leader barking wisdom through gritted teeth. There is a pendulum that swings from being all in (high energy) to being all out (no energy). Our job is to remain in a balanced state in order to exercise our talents and leadership in an effective manner. To remain operational warrior we must daily practice:
- Adequate sleep
- Healthy diet
- Physical exercise so if we are called to an emergency, we have the stamina to embrace it. But more so, we need the daily energy to thrive in our lives.
- Spiritual health. Our souls need to be fed daily. Commit to 10 minutes.
- Strategy health. Having a plan keeps us from wandering, wasting resources and feeling purposeless. Planning for breaks (not once a year vacations) but daily or weekly breaks.
- Set Boundaries and stick to them. Evaluate your life, your tribe’s lifestyle and learn the value of ‘No’. Understanding who you are energy-wise will keep you from burn out. Setting boundaries is not only a gift to you but to those around you. If you run constantly Mach II with your hair on fire, you say to those who might want to talk with you or just be with you that they are either not important enough to make your to do list or you are simply too busy for them.
- Know your numbers. Understanding your own body, it’s limits, it’s needs goes a long way to keeping you on the front lines. Just like keeping tabs on your oil light and gas tank, so is knowing your BMI, your cholesterol, your blood pressure, etc. Early caught hic-ups are easy to fix—ignored numbers become critical quickly and take you out of leadership and the devil wins.
- Be Still! Learn to be still. Practice being alone and quiet. You’ll be surprised what you can learn about yourself when you are still. Learn to hear God’s voice. He does speak to us, but we have to sit down, shut up and pay attention!
