I am not Enough
I am not _______ enough.
Fill in the blank. Patient, forgiving, calm, organized, practical, intelligent, fashionable, efficient and energetic are all some words that come to mind.
I want to tell you a little story about the exercise that wasn't good enough. There once was this workout regime that I enjoyed. Then one day I encountered someone who had a more intense workout regime. They made an offhand comment about my exercise, implying that it wan't even a workout at all. The silly thing is, I chose to believe the lie that my exercise program wasn't enough. I suddenly despised my puny little exercise program. This same program that had helped me get in shape post baby and strengthen my back was now no good to me. So instead of doing something that was good for me, I gave up and did nothing. When Holy Spirit told me this story, I realized it was true, that was what happened. It was so stupid but I had allowed comparison to cause me to believe the lie that I wasn't working hard enough and it immobilized me. This can happen in our parenting too.
Proverbs 22:6 says, Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.I'm gonna sound super nerdy now, but I have been studying English grammar (yay for homeschooling my 4th grader!). That sentence from Proverbs is what one would call an imperative sentence. In other words, it makes a command. The subject of the sentence is the good old implied you. Who should train up a child? YOU!
If God has given us the mandate to train our children, then he has equipped us for the task. Listen, if God gave you children then He made you ___________ enough to train them up.
"Faithful is He who calls you, and He will also bring it to pass." 1 Thessalonians
If you hear thoughts bouncing around the back of your brain like, "I'm not cut out for this." or "I'm not qualified." or "I can't do this." let me encourage you with the fact that all of those thoughts are probably lies. Putting our eyes on ourselves is sure to lead to discouragement. The only place affix our thoughts is firmly on the goodness of God. Instead of letting those "I" thoughts rumble around in our heads let's squish them out with "He" thoughts, like these:
My God who called me is more than able to make me stand. He has mercies for me that are new every morning. He is not limited by my weakness. He is faithful to what he has promised. He will never leave me or forsake me. He will lead and guide me into all truth. He will make a level path before me. He will lead me into rest. He makes all things new. He restoreth my soul. He is the way, the truth and the life and he lives in me.
I have stopped comparing myself to others when it comes to exercise. I repented for believing a lie. Now I do the workout that Holy Spirit helps me do. I don't tell myself, "I'm not strong enough." now I
say, "I'm getting stronger."
Fill in the blank. Patient, forgiving, calm, organized, practical, intelligent, fashionable, efficient and energetic are all some words that come to mind.
I want to tell you a little story about the exercise that wasn't good enough. There once was this workout regime that I enjoyed. Then one day I encountered someone who had a more intense workout regime. They made an offhand comment about my exercise, implying that it wan't even a workout at all. The silly thing is, I chose to believe the lie that my exercise program wasn't enough. I suddenly despised my puny little exercise program. This same program that had helped me get in shape post baby and strengthen my back was now no good to me. So instead of doing something that was good for me, I gave up and did nothing. When Holy Spirit told me this story, I realized it was true, that was what happened. It was so stupid but I had allowed comparison to cause me to believe the lie that I wasn't working hard enough and it immobilized me. This can happen in our parenting too.
Proverbs 22:6 says, Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.I'm gonna sound super nerdy now, but I have been studying English grammar (yay for homeschooling my 4th grader!). That sentence from Proverbs is what one would call an imperative sentence. In other words, it makes a command. The subject of the sentence is the good old implied you. Who should train up a child? YOU!
If God has given us the mandate to train our children, then he has equipped us for the task. Listen, if God gave you children then He made you ___________ enough to train them up.
"Faithful is He who calls you, and He will also bring it to pass." 1 Thessalonians
If you hear thoughts bouncing around the back of your brain like, "I'm not cut out for this." or "I'm not qualified." or "I can't do this." let me encourage you with the fact that all of those thoughts are probably lies. Putting our eyes on ourselves is sure to lead to discouragement. The only place affix our thoughts is firmly on the goodness of God. Instead of letting those "I" thoughts rumble around in our heads let's squish them out with "He" thoughts, like these:
My God who called me is more than able to make me stand. He has mercies for me that are new every morning. He is not limited by my weakness. He is faithful to what he has promised. He will never leave me or forsake me. He will lead and guide me into all truth. He will make a level path before me. He will lead me into rest. He makes all things new. He restoreth my soul. He is the way, the truth and the life and he lives in me.
say, "I'm getting stronger."
Comments
So - thank you.