Do you remember ‘making the cut?’ The one time when you were deemed ‘good enough’ to be included? Everyone spends their life trying to be good enough. Good enough to make the team. Others, good enough to get the job. Some, being good enough to be included…even in gangs. Are you good enough?
Being Good Enough
The reality is, there is always someone better. The hope is that, at that very moment, you are considered ‘good enough’ to be the one. In the long run, it’s a game you cannot win.
The Lie
You are not good. You are not good enough. Of course, there are extremes to this. I remember “Beth” in high school. Beth was even told by those whom she considered friends (because she didn’t really have any true friends) that she wasn’t good. Some even told her that she should just go kill herself because “you are so stupid!”
For Beth, it started back as a little toddler, being told by her dad that she was “no good” and many other hurtful and crippling words and phrases. And she bought the lie.
Christians Are Not Good Enough
And then we have the other extreme. There are Christians who believe they are not “good enough.” What they mean is that they are not deserving. Just choose the circumstance and it will apply to someone. Someone, though a Christian, who believes they are not deserving. An answered prayer, a healing, some kind of provision, and more.
“Lord, why wasn’t our child healed? Am I not good enough, or is my child just not good enough or deserving? Maybe you aren’t the healer, or maybe just for those who deserve it for some unknown reason. Did I not pray hard enough or long enough?”
“And what about that job? I was going to take it and use it to have Kingdom Impact, to reflect Christ. Lord, I just can’t catch a break.”
Did I Blow It or Is It Just God?
If God means well and wants us to have life to the fullest, then why didn’t He _____________? Just fill in the blank (provide, open the door, protect, heal), right? Has God abandoned us? Is He holding out? Maybe it’s just not His will, after all, that is a great mystery and it’s for some but just not for others.
Or maybe we just blew it! Maybe I could have done better, been smarter, braver, wiser, or more beautiful, or something! Are we on our own to ‘just survive?’ What is going on here?
The Truth in the Lie
The enemy wants you to believe the lie, that you are not good enough. Once you do, he’s got you and quickly moves on to someone else. He no longer needs to waste his time with you because you bought the lie.
Truth is, apart from Christ no one is good enough.
Matthew 19:17a MSG
Jesus said, “Why do you question me about what’s good? God is the only One who is good.”
Even More Sad
The sad thing is when Christians continue to believe the lie, which when outside of Christ is true. When Christians believe they are not good enough, that’s when it is even more sad. I can hear Elton John singing in my head right now, Sad Songs.
I love the parallel drawn by John Eldredge. He says, concerning how people have misinterpreted what God says about life, in his book Wake the Dead,
“Getting married means that because I gave you this ring you will be taken care of in your retirement, and in the meantime…”
What kind of a vow or promise is that? His meaning is that some believe that when God was referring to ‘a full life’ He was only referring to eternal life and that in the meantime you are on your own for your time here on this earth.
Saint Irenaeus said,
“The glory of God is man fully alive.”
Could this man be right or is he off his rocker? From experience, this can’t be true…can it? So let me close with some encouragement. It’s up to you to see. What will you believe:
John 10:10b AMP
Jesus said, “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].”
Proverbs 4:23 AMP
Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.
Luke 18:29-30 AMP
And Jesus said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times as much in this present age and in the age to come, eternal life.”
John 10:10 a AMP
Jesus said, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy.”
There Is A Battle For Your Life
All of those verses until John 10:10a sound great. Then Jesus had to bring the enemy in on it. And he, the enemy, is out to steal, and kill, and destroy. We are in a battle, for our lives! The evil one hates the glory and image of God. Life, freedom, and the Promised Land do not come without their battles.
Challenge of the Week
Study God’s word on your goodness. Being good is based not on anything you could have ever done. It is based on what Jesus did for you. God went to battle for you all through the Old Testament all the way to the birth of Jesus, and throughout this age – just check out Revelation 12. In God’s eyes, through Jesus, we are good. Believe Jesus! So be it.
