“You are enough.”

The metal sign reads as it hangs by a burlap rope in a tucked back nook of my kitchen.

I found it in the clearance isle at Hobby Lobby and thought it would inspire me, motivate me, keep me going on the days when I felt low and it was all too much. The design, after all, matched my style, so I bought it and hung it there, right where I pile all the school papers and bills and whatever else perpetually reminds me I never quite have it all together.

And it did inspire me.

For a while.

But summer came fast, and life got hard again. And then every time I looked at that sign, I cringed. It taunted me like a mirage or a dream just out of reach. My mind kept adding the little “n,” followed by the apostrophe and a “t.”

You definitely aren’t enough, I would tell myself. Not today. Not ever.

Then one day I walked past it with a basketful of laundry. It caught my eye again because all the stuff that I’d piled around it caused the corner of the sign to tilt. The “you” looked bigger. Right then, the most obscure thought came. What if I let God be enough? What if He became the “You” and the sign became my prayer instead?

I set down the laundry and felt an enormous weight lift from my shoulders.

“God,” I prayed. “I’m not enough. You are. You’re enough for today, for this week. Enough for me. Please help me stop trying to do it all myself. Help me be okay with depending on You.”

This world tells us often to look to ourselves, to empower ourselves with catchy anthems and sound-bite slogans. And they may even be good. But apart from God, our attempts at “enough” will only leave us feeling less than.

God is our Source of strength, the wisdom we need, the significance we seek, and the peace we long for. The same truth Paul proclaimed in 2 Corinthians 12:9 is true for us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (ESV).

How might God be saying He’s enough for you today?

*first published by the Joyful Life Magazine.