I’ve been such a fan of the “you are enough” movement among women, especially moms and entrepreneurs struggling with feelings of failure or imposter syndrome. These struggles have often debilitated me from doing what I want to do, like writing this blog or sharing my faith and my business with others. So the heart behind “you are enough” really speaks to me with the need for self-love and affirmation. However, it’s ultimately hollow and not sustaining, and I wasn’t sure why until recently.
Realizing I’m Not Enough
If I look for confidence and security in myself, I will fail time and again. I am not enough for my kids; I am not enough for my husband; I am not enough for my clients; I am not enough for myself. Because one person cannot be enough.
I already knew I wasn’t enough. By trying to believe I was enough on my own, I was just deceiving myself. But everyone keeps insisting I am enough, so I tried to chase after that and believe it. I have so much insecurity inside of me telling me I’m not enough. I’m not sufficient. I can’t do it myself. It’s impossible to completely reject this voice because it’s honestly speaking the truth. I really am not enough and I never will be! Recognizing and accepting this is actually super important.
But here’s the thing: that voice - the voice of anxiety and fear and failure and shame - doesn’t tell the whole story.
Who IS Enough
That insecure voice tells me I’m not enough, but it doesn’t tell me who is. It tells me I’m weak without telling me who’s strong. It tells me I can’t without telling me who can. Insecurity cannot tell me these things, because it doesn’t understand peace.
Learning who we are from Insecurity is like learning to bake from someone who watches a lot of baking competitions but has never actually baked anything. They may be able to tell you what not to do or what looks wrong, but they have never experienced the full picture. They don’t know the exact ingredients and measurements and methods and tools you need to successfully bake. They know some of what is right or wrong, but they’re not a pastry chef by any means!
We need to accept out insufficient state. We need to acknowledge that we’re not enough. But we need to hear it from the One who truly knows us and intentionally created this incapable nature for a purpose: so that we would need Him.
A few weeks ago I started reading the book Gospel-Centered Mom by Brooke McGlothlin. Right in the very beginning, Brooke says:
“What if instead of convincing ourselves that we’ve got what it takes, we entertained the notion that God quite possibly made us to need Him - not just for a few minutes, not just for salvation, but for every minute of every day?”
I was floored when I read this! I mean, of course I know that I need God, and there was nothing actually new to me in this statement, but suddenly I was seeing the rest of the picture. I finally started to realize that the root of all my fears and anxieties is in this truth and my ability to embrace it. I fail over and over because I try to figure it out on my own. I’m anxious because I’m an insufficient person trying to be sufficient.
Embracing the All-Sufficient One
When we accept our need for Jesus - when we actively invite Him into what we’re doing, whether it’s parenting or running a business or even just household chores - we are inviting the Holy Spirit to reinvigorate us. We are capable of so much more than we ever imagined when we recognize our incapability and stop trying to do it alone!
One of my favorite names of God is El Shaddai, which means “All-Sufficient One.” The first time God identifies Himself as El Shaddai in the Bible is in Genesis 17:1, when He invites Abram to “walk before [Him] faithfully and be blameless.” How can Abram be blameless?? He’s as sinful and fallen as anyone. He had literally just impregnated his wife’s servant, Hagar, refused to accept and defend her as a new wife, then let his wife Sarai abuse her without interfering. He was not living a faithful and blameless life.
God was able to invite Abram into covenant because the requirements were promises the Lord would keep, not laws Abram must obey successfully. God would be everything Abram needed; God would be sufficient for Him. Abram could walk blameless and faithfully before El Shaddai, the All-Sufficient One.
We can rejoice in our weaknesses and shortcomings, because not only is God all-sufficient, but He is ever-abundant in grace. “My grace is sufficient for you,” He promises, “for my power is made perfect in weakness.” We don’t just have to accept our weakness and incapability; we can celebrate it! After God said this to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul declares, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
We can boast in our weakness and wear our insufficiencies like badges of honor, because they show how powerful God truly is! When I succeed, it is because of God working through me, not my own merit. When I fail, it is because I am a fallen, insufficient being, and yet God still loves me and His grace is enough to cover my sins and my failures.
So I will glorify Him in all my triumphs and turn to Him in all my failures, because I know He is everything I need and His grace is unending. Ultimately, what I do doesn’t matter, because that isn’t what saves me. I am saved by the grace of a God who loved me enough to humble Himself to the form of a man and die in my place (John 3:16). He did all the work. He is enough to cover me. So I don’t have to try and be enough anymore. Thank you, Jesus!