You Are Enough

I oversleep again. And a voice whispers, "What's wrong with you?"

I snap at my innocent husband as he pours his cereal. And a voice whispers, "What's wrong with you?"

I let down a friend. I don't finish a project. I forget to feed the dog on time. And I hear again and again, "What's wrong with you?"

I slip into bed at night with a sigh, pull the covers over my head, and close the day with this question: "What's wrong with me?"

When we fail, struggle, or face obstacles, it can make us feel we are not enough. Surely we must somehow be inadequate or this wouldn't be happening. If only we could be stronger, do more, get better, then things would be okay. We would be okay. We become the judge and find ourselves lacking.

Are we enough?

There are two answers to this question.

The first is, of course not. We're frail. We're human. We fail. None of us is perfect.

But because of what God has done for us, because of Christ who died for us, because of the Spirit within us, that's not the final answer.

The second and truest answer is, yes, we are enough and so much more.

I shared this story in my first book, You're Already Amazing:

"Lord," I asked, "why do women feel as if we're not enough?"

It seemed I heard a whisper in response: "Because they're not."

For a moment I thought I had some holy static happening.

"Excuse me, God, it sounded like you said we're not enough. Could you repeat that, pretty please?"

Again, gently and firmly, "You are not enough."

By then I started thinking perhaps my heart had dialed the wrong number and the devil was on the line. But in that pause it seemed God finished the sentence: "You are not enough . . . in me you are so much more."

• We are much more than pretty . . . we are wonderfully made.

• We are much more than likeable . . . we are deeply loved.

• We are much more than okay . . . we are daughters of the King.

I think the enemy tricks us into believing we are not enough because he knows if we discover the truth, we'll be unstoppable.

More than anything else, the lie that we're not enough is what trips women up when we struggle. I've seen it happen again and again as a life coach and counselor as well as in my own life. The reason is that as long as we believe we're not enough, we also believe we have to make up for it. So instead of running to Jesus, we flee to self-improvement, trying harder, exhausting ourselves. But there is a better way. Receiving. Letting God fill up our "not enough" with his infinite love, grace, and strength until we're overflowing. "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness" (2 Peter 1:3).

In Christ, we have everything we need. We are all we need to be. We are rescued from ourselves and from that question that haunts us, "What's wrong with me?" Instead, we can ask, "Who's within me?" The answer is an infinite God who knows no limits, who hung the stars in place, who hears our every prayer and directs our every step. He offers a fullness that can't be taken away by bad days, weak moments, or even life's greatest tragedies. Yes, we grieve. Yes, we face loss. Yes, we let people down and let people go. But in all of this, who we are is not diminished because the One within us can't be diminished. That never changes, no matter what.

You are enough.

Holley Gerth is a bestselling writer, certified life coach, and speaker. She loves connecting with the hearts of women through her popular blog and books like You're Already Amazing, You're Made for a God-Sized Dream, and Opening the Door to Your God-Sized Dream. Hang out with her at www.HolleyGerth.com.

Excerpt used by permission from You're Going to Be Okay by Holley Gerth (Revell, 2014).

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