He Is Enough

        It will never be good enough. I will never forget the day my son said those words to me as he and I were arguing over how clean his room was supposed to be. Getting my son to clean his room was a battle that I faced each and every week. His idea of clean and my idea of clean were two entirely different things. I lost my temper with him, he yelled back at me and I grounded him. He threw himself onto his bed and said, "Mom, no matter what I do, it will never be good enough for you." His words cut through to my heart because he was right. My expectations that I placed on him were based off of my fault of being a perfectionist. My idea of clean was overwhelming to his twelve year old self and the Lord convicted me that day in a great and mighty way. I saw my son building a wall called "never be good enough" in his heart and I was the reason he was building it. I went to my room and prayed. The Lord showed me that I too have this wall built around my life, a wall built because I once felt like no matter what I did it was never good enough for my mom. There were times when no matter how clean we got our rooms, no matter how sparkling the windows were, she seemed to find something wrong with it. Her idea of clean and our idea of clean were two different things. That day I told my son and my daughter that I expected their rooms to be tidy, and to keep their doors shut so I did not have to look at the unorganized chaos that was laying on their floors. That day, the battle stopped and my son and I were able to tear down the walls of "never be good enough".

        But today, as I sit here before you and type these words, I see remnants of that wall in my life. I always seem to want more. I always seem to be dissatisfied with what I have. As I laid my heart bare before the Lord today, I realized that I am not content. I am still looking for something more than Him to fill this wayward heart of mine. I am not content at times in my marriage, because I am always wanting my husband to be someone he has never been, nor ever will be, because he is not wired the same way I am. I am not content in my business because I keep praying for more, wanting more and working for more. I am not content in my relationship with the Lord because I am always finding ways to pray for more of Him, more of His word, yet never seem to reach it. Over and over again I find myself wanting more, needing more and not being content with what I have, who I have, or where I am at. I am always wanting more.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain."
 1 Timothy 6:6 KJV

        When I think about what it means to be content I think of a calm river. It flows freely and without anything to hinder it. It is calm, cool and you can float upon it easily. Contentment is being happy with what you have. But contentment is more than just being happy with what you have, it is a state of mind that says no matter what happens, no matter who disappoints me, no matter how little I have, or how unsatisfied this life makes me, I am content because I have what God wants me to have. I may not have the perfect spouse or the perfect job, but I am in the hands of a loving God who has a plan and purpose for me. I am content because I know that His Sovereign will works in me and through me, no matter what comes my way. We cannot know contentment nor can we embrace its peace for our lives until we understand that without godliness we can never be content. If contentment were a brick wall, then godliness would the mortar that holds it all together.

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        Godliness is reverence of God. It is respecting Him as He is;  God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, Sovereign King, Lord or Lords, and all that is between. Godliness reverences God by respecting His place in our lives. It is the honor we give Him day after day. When we reverence and respect God as He is due we will be content with our lot in life because we will fully recognize Him as God. We will not have to seek more because He will already be enough. Our reverence for Him is manifested through our contentment with what we have, where we are, where we live and what we do with it. Being content is having a mind that looks at its life and says, "He is enough." It doesn't say "I have enough" It says, "HE IS ENOUGH".

        Why is what we have never enough? We always want more don't we? God alone will give you increase and growth as He desires, and as He has purposed for your life. Contentment is an inward disposition that stems from the humble knowledge that God is in complete control of every aspect of your life. The people who are in your life are there because God has placed them there. God does not make mistakes. The life that you are living God knew you were going to live it and God is working it all out for His glory. Be content knowing that no matter what happens today God is still God and He is enough.

        Contentment is the acknowledgement that your life is in the hands of the Almighty and Sovereign God. He does not ask us to seek more, unless we seek more of Him. He does not ask us to strive to grow, He says He will give increase in His time. Contentment in the Christian is the simple obedience of a life that seeks to please Him, knowing that in the end, no matter what comes our way- He is enough. Be faithful and content with what you have, who you have and where you have it, and God, who is able to make all grace abound towards you will give you increase according to His will. (2 Corinthians 9:8) Amen?