More Than Enough

“Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.” Psalm 71:20-21 (emphasis mine)

Just about nothing irritates me more than hearing people talk about Christianity as a cure-all to their problems. “If I just believe in God, have enough faith, and please Him, He will keep me from having to go through hard times, keep me from suffering, and give my perfectly healthy family nice things.” The verse from Proverbs, “In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight,” is often misinterpreted to mean that God will make our lives easy and that we will eventually die on a yacht after a lengthy retirement.

The “Health, Wealth, and Prosperity” gospel is not the Gospel at all.

If this were all true, we would expect that Paul and Peter would eventually settle down with their wife and kids and live like kings in a mansion with a 2.5-car garage until the Good Lord takes them away at an old age.

But my Bible tells me that they both faced hardships in the form of lashings, being beaten with rods, being stoned, being ship-wrecked, and being lost in the open sea. They were never able to settle down in one place for long, they experienced thirst and hunger, and were left cold and naked at times. Paul likely died in a prison cell and tradition has it Peter was hung upside-down on a cross because he would not allow himself to die in the same manner as his Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sound like the Health, Wealth, and Prosperity gospel?

God never promised Paul or Peter that they would lead safe, prosperous lives in the worldly sense, and He doesn’t promise us that either.

Something tells me that wouldn’t have been fulfilling for Paul or Peter anyway.

What He does promise us is that even after all of the hardships and sorrows that we’ll face, be they “many and bitter” as the psalmist describes, He will never leave us or forsake us.

When life falls short of sustaining us, He tells us that He alone is enough.

Now I’ve sung the songs before saying “You are more than enough for me” or “All I need is You…” but when I stop and think about what this really means, do I really believe that Jesus alone is enough for me?

I had a dream last year during a pretty intense stretch in the summer that a friend of mine was in a horrible car accident and had lost his legs and been paralyzed from the neck down. I began to think about whether God’s love and grace would really be enough for me in such a situation where pretty much all the earthly things that I find my joy and worth in would be completely stripped away. My Hendrix-esque guitar shredding, my unparalleled athletic ability, and my rugged good looks…all gone. I’m kidding…I can’t really play the guitar like Hendrix. ;)

But if I’m honest, I can’t really answer yes to that question.

In our verse from Proverbs, the verb “acknowledge” means “to know intensely.” This same verb is even used at times in the Old Testament to describe a sexual relationship between a man and a woman. If we “know God intensely,” He will make our paths straight.

I don’t know how Bible scholars interpret this verse and I don’t really care either. To me, this is not a promise that God is going to make everything easy, but rather, if we know Him as intensely and are as consumed by His character as this verse suggests, everything else, all other paths, become drastically less important and we are able to sprint straight ahead towards our Father who offers exceedingly more than enough than we will ever need or be able to comprehend.

When we start to believe that this is true, that living a life following ruthlessly after Christ is the best possible place we could be in, our paths will continue to become increasingly straight.

But that’s hard sometimes when it feels like you’re doing everything you possibly can to follow after Christ and it still feels like you’re walking through a tangled maze.

That’s what’s so amazing about Christianity and the Cross of Christ, which I’m seeing more and more clearly each day represents the totality of the Christian faith, theology, and doctrine in one single act.

Though life is hard at times (and there will be plenty of hard times), there’s always a Light at the end of the tunnel. It’s going to get better.

“You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ – eternal and glorious plans they are! – will have you put together and on your feet for good.” 1 Peter 5:9-10, The Message (emphasis mine)

The sick are healed, the blind given sight, and the deceased raised from the dead. It’s going to get better.

Through a relationship with Jesus Christ, we are offered hope and fullness of life no matter our situation or circumstance. He took on death (and it doesn’t get any worse than that!) and arose victorious so that even when we face death ourselves, we will be able to spend eternity with Him where He will most definitely be more than enough!