Hope Firstናሙና

You Are Enough

Have you ever found yourself in a position of defeat, like you have nothing left to offer?  Our lack of accomplishments, abilities, or money can leave us feeling insignificant. We can feel as if we are not good enough for anyone or anything because of____. You can fill in the blank. What’s beautiful about God, is that in these times of inadequacy, God loves us and accepts us as we are.  Despite our insufficiency, sin, and brokenness, He calls us His children. That’s personal and intentional. We are enough. 

In Luke 7:36-50, we see an anonymous sinful woman come before Jesus and offer Him an alabaster jar of expensive perfume. A religious teacher saw this and judged the woman for audaciously approaching Jesus when she was so sinful. To the teacher, the woman was unworthy and defined by her sin. But to Jesus, she was precious. Jesus saw her love, received her, and forgave her sins. She had no achievements. But she still approached Jesus, as herself. As she brought the most valuable thing she owned as a gift for Jesus, she also brought the worst parts of herself. In spite of her brokenness and failures, she boldly entered into the presence of Jesus. She refused to hold anything back. She gave Him her heart, her soul, and all that she loved simply by entering into His presence. 

In moments where you feel unworthy of being in God’s presence, remember this woman’s refusal to allow her shame to separate her from the love of Her Savior. Jesus didn’t love her in spite of her sins, he loved her because of them. He saw that her sins gave her a deeper understanding of God’s love for her, which then deepened her love for Him. He said, “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love” (verse 47). Jesus cares about who we are and how we come to Him more than how we have failed. 

Jesus’ last moments on the cross hold the most powerful proof of His love for us. He gave everything of Himself to compensate for everything that we are not. When we take the steps to meet with Jesus just as we are, He fills in all of our insufficiencies with His value and worth. Don’t disqualify yourself. Jesus already qualified you. Because of Him, you are more than enough. 

PRAYER

Jesus,

Thank You for loving me as I am. Because of your love for me, I know that I am enough. Thank You that no mistake can stop me from running to You. Teach me what it looks like to surrender all that I have and all that I am to You. My life is Yours. In Jesus’ name, Amen.