Enough Already
I write this blog today with dear friends on my heart. One is still in the hospital after months, waiting for a heart transplant. I have a nephew and a cousin who are dealing with the potential loss of their eyesight. And others who are facing major financial issues from the loss of work during the pandemic. These people are beautiful Christians who love God with all their hearts. I know the toll it can take on their faith. Been there. I know the thought: “ENOUGH already!”
ENOUGH (in the context of “had enough”): outraged, tired, sick, weary, disappointed, fed up, teed off. We’ve all been there – to the crushing point of exhaustion, when we’ve long stood for an answer to our prayers and it seemed the prayers were hitting the ceiling. We felt hopeless and incredibly disappointed. Maybe you relate to those emotions. The sheer monotony of it all is tiring! It sucks the life out of us to try some more, only to be disappointed again. So we declare…. “ENOUGH already!” That kind of weariness is a soul fatigue that needs real soul rest.
I get that. Praying, giving, and caring for others wasn’t enough. Doing the right thing didn’t even seem to be enough. It was only when I came to the end of my rope and my own abilities that I realized “I can NEVER be enough on my own.” The truth is we aren’t enough and we don’t have to feel guilty for the feelings. Even Jesus admitted in the Garden that He would rather the cup, He was about to drink from, pass from Him. He understands us. Mercifully, we don’t have to be enough because our Heavenly Father is enough. His love for us is inexhaustible.
If ever anyone had enough, it was St. Paul and rather than declaring “ENOUGH!”, he gave us the key to survival: “He (God) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10) And, he stepped it up another notch when he said, “I CAN do all things through Christ Who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13). The ENOUGH we need is found in He Who is our strength.
Years ago I was a co-narrator for a Jewish Seder Passover Meal at my home church in Tulsa. A beautiful prayer, recited during the meal, was the refrain “Dayenu” which translates to “It would have been ENOUGH for us.” Here is some of that prayer:
“God, if you had only created us, it would have been enough for us. If you had only freed us from slavery in Egypt, it would have been enough for us. If you had only given us your wise Law, it would have been enough for us. If you had only fed us with manna, it would have been enough for us. If you had only brought us into the Promised Land, it would have been enough.”
The prayer lists many more blessings that God has poured out on His people and concludes: “How much more do we have to be thankful for the manifold and unbounded blessings of the All-Present God!” What a great prayer for us today! No matter how much we realize all that God has done for us, there is always more. There is never a reason to doubt that God wants to give us more. In fact, He is likely orchestrating the gift of that “more” right now!
Maybe we should come up with our own “Dayenu” list — thinking of the ways God has provided for us, blessed us, and revealed His love to us. Maybe we should take some time in prayer today to rejoice in His boundless gifts in our life — past, present, and future.
“Lord, if you had only forgiven my sin and removed my guilt, it would have been enough. But You have done so much more. All praise to You, my God of MORE THAN ENOUGH! Please help my patience to be more than enough to trust completely in You and Your timing!”