When Enough is Truly Enough

Enough is a word that has one meaning in the dictionary, but many more in common usage. I have used the phrase “enough is enough” or “I’ve had enough” more than I care to count with my four teenagers. However, the tone that I use when I say it does not imply that I am completely satisfied with enough, but in fact I am quite unsatisfied.

‘As much or as many of something as required’ is the textbook definition of enough. But are we capable of feeling that we have exactly what we need in any given moment? If we are honest, we concern ourselves more often with not having enough or having more than enough. How can we find contentment if we struggle to understand ‘enough’?

Many times, when someone shares an extremely difficult time they are going through, I say “His grace is sufficient”. I take comfort in these words because they remind me that the grace I need from day to day varies and so does the measure of grace God supplies me.

2 Corinthians says But he (God) said to me, “My grace is enough for you, my power is made perfect in weakness”. When we look at the context in which God says these memorable words, we see that it is in a moment of weakness and helplessness. It is the moment Paul says, “enough is enough!” Paul has had all he can take of a “thorn in his side”.

The thorn is never named and so we are left to wonder. Was it a temptation? Was it an illness? Was it a relationship? It was something that Paul begged God to take away three different times and God said NO. Granted this ‘thorn’ was meaningful to Paul, but I believe it is not spelled out for a reason. The reason is, it really doesn’t matter what it is that leaves us weak and screaming “ENOUGH”. What matters most is the grace available to supply the need in our weakness.

Honestly, being a parent to four teenagers leaves me drained most days. Half-grown adults leaving spilled cereal to crunch under my feet, hearing “Mom, I need socks” (every morning) and their emotions always running high is much harder than bouncing a baby on my hip and sleepless nights. I have to remind myself that even though the hardships of parenting are different now, I was also weak when they were small and required a different kind of care.

No matter our weakness, God says His grace is sufficient. His grace is enough. And if we try to toughen up and tell ourselves “we’ve got this”, then there is no room for God’s grace to intervene. Our weakness is an invitation. When I feel like I am not enough, I have hit on the truth. I am not enough. I never will be. When I have had enough, God is enough!

God is adequate for the need or want; He is sufficient for the purpose or to satisfy desire. His grace is the quantity or degree that answers a purpose. He is enough for whatever has depleted you. Won’t you admit your weakness to Him and then pay attention to the grace he imparts into your circumstance?

The other day at my wits end with one of my teenagers I told God (very loudly) “I’ve got nothing”. I knew I needed to intervene in a situation in my teen’s life, but I had no idea how to and quite frankly I just wanted to ignore it. God heard “I’ve got nothing” and He said, “I’ve got enough”. He guided me gracefully as I talked and cried with my teen and began to bring healing and restoration into the situation. His grace is sufficient. His power is made perfect in weakness.