I'm Not Enough, But I Am Complete

OK. If you subscribe to the email version of my blog, this one is coming to you twice.  That's because I am a new blogger and have uncertainties and overlooked details that catch me questioning things. I posted this last week and then realized that I had posted a similar blog. However, the content was not intended to be the same. Soooo, long story short: I deleted last week's post but decided to put it back. However, I plan to rewrite the content the way I intended it to be in the first place. That should post sometime before the week is up. It will be entitled "Helpless". Regardless, thank you for sticking with me in this learning adventure. I pray that you have been encouraged even a little!

I have some food sensitivities...many food sensitivities to be a little more specific. So many that my selections are very slim and I eat 99.5% of my meals at home so I know exactly what is in it.  Because of this there are days that no matter how much I eat of what I can eat, it's just not enough. Sometimes I continue to feel hungry and other times I just cannot feel satisfied with what I have eaten even if I am full. On those days, nothing is enough. In our world which is highly saturated with psychoanalytics, many of us have felt this way about life, perhaps even about ourselves: "I am not enough". I have days like that: days in which I just don't feel like I am enough or have enough to meet the demands, requests or expectations of those around me. However, it is  not a lingering or predominant feeling. One reminder I try to keep before me, though is that I am not enough to meet God's standard of perfection. I am not good enough, smart enough, clever enough or convincing enough to impress God. 10 as it is written,  "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; 11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; 12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."  (Romans 3:10-12, NASB) This is not a self-abasing attitude that I am practicing, nor is it a form of penance. It is simply reality. Why do I keep this reminder before me then? Because although I know I fall terribly short of God's standard and that those failures are an offense to Him, I gladly rejoice that out of His love for mankind, He has provided what I need to be not only acceptable, but abundantly supplied. Philippians 1:6 says, " For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."  This perfection is accomplished because Jesus, God in the flesh, laid aside His rightful place on the throne of heaven for a short time to come to earth as a baby. He grew to manhood living a perfect life all the way through to His death on the cross. This is how He paid the debt we owe for our sins. The best part of this story is that after men put Him in a tomb and sealed it and placed a guard in front of it, He rose and overcame death. What you must do to RECEIVE this same victory, this GIFT of eternal life, is accept it. It's that simple. If you accept this gift, understanding the magnitude of what He has saved you from, then your grateful heart will experience a change of desires and you will want to serve and obey what God says through His Word, the Bible. We deserve worse because we are not enough, but God's love is enough for the whole world (John 3:16). He offers it, but He doesn't force it. However, He is a righteous God who demands justice for breaking His law, so the penalty must be paid one way or another: either by you or by Him. He has an abundant supply with which to pay and His desire is to pay, because He loves you (2 Peter 3:9). Please receive His Christmas gift today and know that He completes the parts of you that aren't enough just like He has done and continues to do for me. You will be satisfied! "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15)  For God's Glory, Chris S. Sweet