How our insufficiency creates space for the miraculous

Our society teaches us “you are enough” and “she believed she could and so she did.” It tells us to be confident in our own abilities.

Can we be honest for a minute?

That puts a lot of pressure on us as people who are tired, broken, and only human. It fuels misplaced self-assurance and feeds an unhealthy striving for perfection. The idea of being enough teaches us to either attempt to earn God’s love or become apathetic to our flaws.

God knows us inside out. He is more aware of our shortcomings more intimately than we know them ourselves. Even before the first sin in the Garden of Eden, God knew that failure was more than a possibility, it was inevitable. We can never be enough to earn His favor or deserve Jesus’ sacrifice.

And yet, God has incredible plans for us to do His work, not because of our own ability, but because of the Lord. God loves showing off when the glory can only go to Him. If we want to see God do the miraculous, we have to show up with humility. We must embrace our inability and lean on His supremacy. Showing up with empty hands and an admission of insufficiency creates an empty canvas that God can fill with things we never imagined.

Friends, if you are tired of trying to do it all by yourself today, and you aren’t feeling “enough,” I have great news. You aren’t! On our own, failure is inevitable.

But we can have confidence in our identity in Christ. Let that soak in a moment. Do you feel the freedom it brings? You don’t have to be enough. You can show up weary, fragile, burdened, and flawed, and God will be enough. More than enough. And His grace will allow us to be a part of something beyond our wildest dreams.


Scripture for meditation
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
-Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)

Prompt for reflection or journaling
In what situation do I need to rely on God’s power instead of my own?

How can I embrace humility today?

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