Am I Not Enough?

Introduction

“Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong. When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”
—Daniel 10:19 (NIV)
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Life has a way of throwing us curveballs. There you are, going along just fine in your life, and then suddenly, a major change hits you out of nowhere. No one is quite prepared for the unexpected because, after all, life is supposed to go in a logical flow, at least, that is what we tend to think when we plan our lives. We say things like, “This is the direction I will go. When I get to thirty years old, I am going to be the CEO or president of my own company or of Company X. By the time I turn fifty, I will retire and live in my beachfront home on a tropical island somewhere or do whatever my heart desires.” This may not be the same for you, but somewhere along your life’s journey, you had lofty thoughts of what your life will look like, and you have a roadmap and a destination planned for your future.

We all have dreams, but unfortunately, they do not always turn out the way we plan. Life has a unique way of taking us on a convoluted path that sometimes leaves us scratching our heads and wondering where we might have missed the mark. If truth be told, sometimes even Christians question and even doubt God’s guidance or presence in our lives. When that happens, we should not be discouraged or feel “less than.” I must confess, and I can identify with where you are exactly because I, too, have doubted and questioned God’s presence in my life when things did not turn out the way I planned. In those confusing and frustrating moments, I wondered where God was, and what He may be up to in my life.

I am learning that God’s not angry with me when this happens. He knows and understands our human frailty. Remember: He created us, and He is sovereign. Often, we start our lives in one direction, and as humans, our natural, logical way of thinking runs from point A to point Z. But in God’s divine flow, He may start us at point A, then move us to point B, and on to C, and before long, we are at M and are going along just fine when suddenly, life makes a detour, and before we know it, we are back at possibly point A, point D, or who knows where. In those unpredictable moments, I am reminded that when I am following the Lord, my life may never flow in a straight line. I am also learning that, along life’s journey, there will be some twists and turns that we will all face to reach our God-given destinations and develop into the men and women He created us to be.

To live your God-given dreams and reach your highest potential, you must go through the ebb and flow of life. We will not always walk a logical path or a way that seems to make the most sense because our sovereign God does not use human logic to chart our steps. The Lord made that very clear in Scripture when He said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9 NIV).

The thoughts of God are superior to human thinking. He is a supernatural, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-wise God who does things in a divine order that does not always make sense to the human mind. That is why He is God. If only we can grasp this truth, then we will be able to walk confidently with the Lord, knowing that He has a perfect plan for every obstacle we may face.

Even though you may not understand the path God is taking you on right now, rest assured that amid the doubt, fear, and discouragement, He is perfecting your faith. In His all-powerful ability, He can take us where He needs us to be. That is where faith comes into play. In Luke 8:25 NIV, Jesus asked His disciples, “‘Where is your faith?’ In fear and amazement, they asked one another, ‘Who is this?’ He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’” Faith is about trusting God even when we do not understand what He is doing in our lives or the circumstances that surround us. If the winds and the water obey God, shouldn’t we? To flow in God’s divine plan for our lives, we must obey, and we must believe well.