What the Lord has given us is enough
I weaved the colored lights in, through, and around the branches of our 20 year old store-bought tree with enthusiasm. Of course, we had tested all of the lights beforehand. Miraculously, they all still worked, and I had been told confidently that there were five whole strands to work with. But then I asked the children to hand me the last strand of lights to complete the tree.
“Oh,” they said, “we must have been wrong. We don’t have any more lights.”
It was a moment of decision.
Would I get angry and yell?
Would I run to the store (even though it was already late and the kids were looking forward to decorating the tree together)?
I stood staring at the almost-but-not-quite-entirely lit up Christmas tree and decided that the best course of action was to just send the kids out of the room for a while.
As Christian ministry workers, we are very familiar with the kind of dead end frustration I experienced in that moment. My Christmas tree problem was eventually fixed by rearranging lights to cover empty spaces. But most of the challenges we face in ministry life are not solved that simply.
We serve a great, big, mighty God who in His goodness, chooses to use us in our great weakness, frailty, and limitations. Wherever we go, we see and perceive overwhelming spiritual, physical, and emotional need. Even on days and weeks when we do have a clear plan of how and where we should be investing our time and energy, often small tasks - like trying to set up a Christmas tree - seem to step in and derail us. Our “needs attention” list is endless, ever present, and often suffocates our joy.
I am sure right now you could easily share five things that have gone undone in your church this week (perhaps just from today). You could also name at least five people who need something from you, and five different areas of your ministry that you think need more of your time and attention.
Sisters and brothers, what we need to remember, especially during this Christmas season, is exactly what I needed to remember as I stared at the tree: What the Lord has given us is enough.
The Lord has given me enough - for work and for rest.
The Lord has given me enough - for faithfulness.
The Lord has given me enough - for joy.
The Lord has given me enough - for gratitude.
He has given me enough time and enough energy
to walk in faithful obedience
in this day.
In this very moment there may be many areas of life and ministry where we feel that there is simply not enough - whether that is having enough financially, or having enough well-equipped people who are able to serve, or having enough Gospel opportunities, or seeing and experiencing enough lasting spiritual transformation in ourselves or others.
However, this dead end desperate feeling of lack that we all experience to some degree is not an obligation for us to simply work harder, sleep less, and neglect our health in order to ensure the gaps are filled. Rather, it is an invitation to seek the Lord, ask Him to meet the needs, and then rest in knowing He has given us enough for this day.
In The Greatest Gift Ann Voskamp wrote:
“God gives God. That is the gift God always ultimately gives. Because nothing is greater and we have no greater need, God gives God…and we only need to slow long enough to unwrap the greatest Gift with our time: time in His Word, time in His presence, time at His feet.”
What the Lord has given us is enough, because He has given us Himself.
In Him there is abundant life and every good thing.
He is enough. And what He has given us is enough.
Jess Proudfoot is an urban missionary in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She is part of the church planting team and also serves as the Director of Women’s Ministries at Grace Harbor Church in New Bedford.
