fill in the blank....

The news has been full of reports about a 14 year old Pakistani girl who, all by herself, is trying to bring liberation to her country by showing how persecuted women are there. Women are treated as nothing more than property. They have NO rights, are entitled to NO education, they are frequently beaten/raped by their husbands and can be shot for violating the smallest of "rules." This girl was hunted down and shot by extremists while riding the school bus and is still in critical condition as of this writing. Those involved in her attempted murder have vowed they will return to finish the job. 

In our own country, we are facing a crisis. Economy is down, jobs are dwindling, the price of food, gas, and living is going up all the while the wages have stagnated. Now we face a presidential election and the candidate choices, many say, are no better than what we have already.

So what can YOU do? You are one person, but even one person can make a difference! Don't think so? Read on:

 

"I’m not _____________ enough." You can fill that blank in with smart, talented, gifted, spiritual, or any number of positive attributes. But the root source of each one of those lies is “I’m not good enough.” It is one of the enemy’s favorite weapons and he uses it to keep God’s children in bondage to feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy. The bottom line is, the enemy wants you to believe that you are “not enough.” Period.  But you are enough. You are enough and have been equipped by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do everything that God has called you to do.

It seems the message of “I’m not good enough to earn my way to heaven on my own,” has been transformed into I’m not good enough… period. God created man and woman and said, “It is good.” We are so valuable to God that He gave His only Son to restore our brokenness.
To be honest, I could have been the poster child for the lie, “I’m not good enough.”  If feeling inadequate was an Olympic event, I would have been on the Wheaties box. It was the undercurrent of my entire existence until I finally realized who I was in Christ. Bible teacher Beth Moore said, “In the dead of the night when insecurities crawl on us like fleas, all of us have terrifying bouts of insecurity and panics of insignificance. Our human natures pitifully fall to the temptation to pull out the tape measure and gauge ourselves against people who seem more gifted and anointed by God.” That was me.
Many of us are living in silent defeat, comparing themselves to others who are living in secret defeat. I’m not a good mother/father. I’m not a good spouse. I’m not a good Christian. I’m not a good housekeeper. I’m not a good decorator.  I’m not a good cook.  I’m not a good….  We are caught in a cycle of the “I’m not good enoughs.” One by one, the petals fall from the beautiful flower God created us to be. Like ticker tape, our fragmented pieces of confidence litter the streets like the Macy’s parade passing by.
Unfortunately, I wasted many precious years held captive by the enemy’s lies before I held up my chained hands to God and said, “I’m ready for you to set me free.”
Consider this:
Jacob was a liar.
Moses was a stutterer.
Gideon was a coward.
David was an adulterer.
Rahab was a prostitute.
Esther was an orphan.

And yet God used each one of them to impact His kingdom.
God doesn’t call us because we are particularly gifted or talented. He uses us because we are obedient and dependent on Him. He doesn't call the qualified--He qualifies the called!!!

The truth is, if you have experienced new birth in Christ, when God looks at you, He sees Jesus.  And friend, Jesus is good enough.

Go back to that sentence in today’s devotion.  What would you put in that blank?

Is that the truth?

What do you think God would say to you about what you have written in that blank?