We Are Not Enough And That’s Okay

There’s a whisper in society that says we have to be enough. In school, we have to be enough to get the grades, make the team, impress the teacher, and move up in the world. After that, we have to be enough to get our dream job, be a spouse, be a parent, achieve goals, and on it goes. There is always a role that we have to be enough for.

Yet so often, we don’t feel enough. Not in the slightest. While others may comment on our strengths, we come face-to-face with our weaknesses every day. We face them in the mirror each morning when we get ready for the day whether we’re ready or not. We feel the weakness in our bones when we’re tired from a restless night or sore from an active day.

We know deep down we are not enough, yet we keep trying to be. Sometimes we try for our friends because they are relying on us to be there for them, whether that means showing up in person or talking on the phone. Other times we try to be enough for our coworkers and employers because we value our jobs and want to be an asset to the company.

Out of a desire to be invaluable, we wear ourselves down until we question whether we have anything of true value to offer. And it has to stop.

What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.” ~ Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

In her book Nothing to Prove, Jennie Allen wrote, “I’m convinced nearly all of us feel this incredible pressure to prove we measure up in some way. Every morning we face the list of tasks left undone the previous night, the expectations of our family and coworkers, the burden to be the beautiful, strong, and gracious ideal humans that we’re convinced the world, the church, and God require.”

As a result, we strive to be smart enough, brave enough, and strong enough for every situation.

Striving itself is not wrong. On the contrary, diligence is often encouraged in Scripture. In Hebrews 12:1-3, Paul challenges believers to run this race of life with perseverance, considering Christ who endured greater opposition than we do.

In contrast, laziness is warned against. It’s almost used as an insult at times. Proverbs 10:4 says, Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. There is great value in diligence.

The danger comes when we strive on our own to be what the world wants us to be instead of striving with God to be who He made us to be.

Allen wrote, “When we see ourselves the way God sees us, we don’t have to strive. Being near to God doesn’t produce pressure or legalism; it produces worship.”

Striving to be enough on our own steals our joy. It robs us of rest, peace, and time because there is always more to do, be, and achieve. This lie is a double-edged sword. It says we can be enough if we just keep striving, but truthfully there is no such thing. No one can be enough.

Romans 3:10 says, As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; and Romans 3:23 says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Some justify shortcomings by saying they aren’t as bad as someone else. Yet this reasoning is still faulty because James 2:10 says, For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

Others claim they are good people and don’t sin. However, 1 John 1:8 says, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

We have all fallen short. We have all sinned, and we can never be enough. But thank goodness we don’t have to be.

At the beginning of time when sin first entered the world, God set a plan of redemption in motion. He sent His only Son Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins. Through His perfect life, death, and resurrection, Jesus conquered death, sin, and the lies of the enemy.

John 2:1-2 says, My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

“With God, when a sin has been confessed, it is forgiven once and for all. There is no labeling; there is not even a reminder of our past mistakes. There are no reparations for us to make because nothing in us earns His grace,” wrote Allen.

There is no more pressure, no more striving. We are not enough and that’s okay. Jesus is enough for us.

As Allen put it, “We don’t have to perform for a God who already adores us as His adopted children.”

We don’t have to measure up because God already loves us beyond measure. We don’t have to demonstrate our worth because Jesus already demonstrated what we are worth to Him on the cross.

It’s time to abandon the lie that we need to measure up and embrace the truth that we have nothing to prove.

All is Grace, Esther Noe

P.S. If you enjoyed this post, please like, comment, and share! In 2021, I wrote a poem called Here In Your Arms. You can read it here.

Disclaimer: All Scripture quoted was from the New King James Version of the Bible as found on biblegateway.com.