When have we had enough? Enough to eat? Enough to drink? Enough to buy? When have we reached the point of actually being content, satiated and having had enough.
The waiter stands over me, cheese grinder in hand, perched over my salad. “Tell me when it’s enough” Can you ever really have enough cheese on your Caesar salad?
In the same way we think the Lord stands over us, gifts and blessings and our ridiculous expectations in hand. “Tell me when it’s enough.” And still we think well, who can ever have enough? Lord, give me more money, more things, more power.
Philip in John 14 said to Jesus, “Show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Poor guy was missing the forest for the trees, the Father was in the One who stood before Him. Jesus, the God man is and was fully the Father. One in the same. Jesus was the answer to Philip’s request.
Don’t we so often do the same though? We beg God for something in prayer when all the while He is calling us to find it in Him.
Several years ago I sat in a wise counselor’s office telling her all that I needed changed in my husband. Clearly I was missing the point. She quietly let me rant and then gently said, “And if he changed in every way you think you want him to, then next week you would still be back here with a new list of changes that needed to happen. What you seek isn’t found in him, but in God alone.”
It wasn’t until I heeded her advice and turned my heart fully towards meeting my heart needs in the Lord, that I came to the place where I found Him to be enough. My husband would never be enough. My children will never be enough. I can never eat enough, drink enough or buy enough. The filling comes only from Jesus.
So how do we stop going to those around us asking for more? How do we come to the Lord for the enough our empty soul needs?
Jesus answered Philip with 3 points that would help him and us find Him to be our enough.
- Believe Him (verse 11). It is not until we believe in our heart of hearts that He IS actually enough that we will stop choking others for their approval, commitment and love.
- Love Him (verse 15). The original word given for love in this verse is not just a feeling of love, but rather a choice. What if we continually trained our heart and mind to love Him? What does love do? It thinks about it’s object, considers it’s object, tries to relate to it’s object. Our hearts would be well trained and responsive to His lead and filling if we thought on Jesus, considered Jesus and His ways and constantly tried to see from His perspective.
- Obey Him (verse 15). The proof, so to speak, of our love for Him is our response to Him. When /we love someone we are pretty quick to try to do what they need/want so that we might demonstrate our love. Same is true for our love for Jesus. When we realize how great He loved us and demonstrated it even unto death on a cross, then we see how action is related to the feeling of love. If we love Him, we will act in obedience to Him.
As we begin to walk in believing Him, loving Him and obeying Him, we will begin to see how that turns our eyes from those around us and causes us to begin to actually be filled up with enough of Jesus to give out.
This is such a great topic. Only He is enough, but what assurance it is that He IS enough. We don’t have to rely on ourselves or others who are imperfect and may let us down. Thanks for sharing this. I’m visiting today from the Recharge Wednesday link up. Have a great day Mariel!
Thanks for visiting, Marielle, grateful the post blessed you!
“Our hearts would be well trained and responsive to His lead and filling if we thought on Jesus, considered Jesus and His ways and constantly tried to see from His perspective.” This reminds me how God built us to serve. When we are not ‘self-focused’ we don’t consider whether we are ‘enough.’ Instead, we focus on seeing where we can serve each moment. A very thought-provoking post! Thank you!
thank you, grateful it blessed you 🙂