Yesterday, Jen talked about being enough. Today is all about getting honest and believing that God is enough for us, and the concept of “enoughness” and “muchness” when relating it to faith in God.
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Transcription:
Guest Host: Jen Ervig
Yesterday we looked at whether we’re enough and that our enoughness comes from who He is and His enoughness. Today we get honest about whether we believe He’s enough for us, because honestly, it’s never been about if we’re enough. It’s always been about whether we believe He’s enough. I love that word: enoughness. You know me in words that don’t exist. Enoughness is such a great word. It reminds me of that scene from the movie, the one Alice in Wonderland, but the one with Johnny Depp, and he says, can you picture it now what I’m talking about? He says to Alice, you’ve lost your muchness. Muchness. Why did the Mad Hatter say that to Alice? Because her muchness is her. How Jesus made her. Whether it’s too much for people or not enough for others, had or loved her muchness and her muchness is needed. The good news is not a message of do your best and be good enough, but rather your best is never enough, but Jesus is. That’s a quote by Alistair Beg.
When we remember the good news, we retain our muchness. So, do you believe that he’s enough? Do you trust him? Do you enjoy him? Psalms 145, the chief end of man is that you love him and enjoy him, the chief end. In other words, what is enough or all that’s required? Psalms 145 just told us all that’s required. All that is enough is that you enjoy him. If you don’t trust him or enjoy him, then I’ve got to ask, do you even really know him? I think you do. I think you do know him, but sometimes your circumstances and feelings about them are loud storms that block the light of truth. Our emotions cannot determine who God is. God determines who God is. And God’s revelation of Himself to us is what we trust and even enjoy in difficult times.
God’s declaration of I Am, his breath, life and existence. One of the strongest emotions is grief. Grief is overwhelming. Grief is like a black curtain that blocks the light of what you know exists on the other side because you’ve seen it before. It can steal your muchness. Without a firm fixation on the truth of who God is, remembering what’s on the other side of the curtain, we can drown in grief. I know when my brother died, gosh, it must’ve been about 10 years ago now, I was losing my muchness. I couldn’t remember who God was on the other side and I had all these questions. Why did my brother die? About how he died. Was he even in heaven? And I just had doubts in God and myself. But I know my brother is with Jesus. I believe He gave me a vision that told me that it was so.
There are so many times in life when you’re going to have to get real and have a come to Jesus moment and decide if he’s enough for you. When my brother died, I had all these questions. Lord, is everything I know about you and heaven in the Bible real? How can I know I want answers. Why did my brother die? How did he die? Is anybody responsible? And I needed Jesus to be enough for me when I didn’t have the answers, when there was no answer, that could be enough for me. I needed Jesus to be enough for me. There will come a time when you need to decide if Jesus is enough for you. He’s revealing himself all the time. You’ve seen Him time and again in your life. You know you have. I remember when talking about my brother’s death to my pastor, he said, you got to ask yourself if you trust God enough to be okay with never knowing what actually happened to him. In scripture, there’s a moment where Jesus is about to tell his followers that knowing Him is knowing God. Something they’ve always wanted and longed for. He tries to convince them that he’s enough for them. He’s trustworthy. He can be counted on and that he was always God’s plan for them. Let’s read in John 14.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”Jesus the Way to the Father. 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.
It’s like me saying, in the grief of my brother’s death, looking for any ray of hope because of my grief, and my grief is currently blocking the view of Jesus. Like that dark curtain I talked about. It’s like me saying, Lord, show me God and that will be enough for me. Or Show me who you are in this. And he says, with tears in his eyes, more because he feels my pain and loss than he feels slighted by my comment. Jen, don’t you know me? I sure do know him, and I know his enoughness. I will always cling to that enoughness and in doing so, retain my muchness. We’ll see you tomorrow.
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