I’m a fan of pumpkin flavored anything near fall.
I made my coffee with milk, a few drops of cream, honey, and sprinkles of Pumpkin Pie spice on top. I heated up my homemade creamer in a mug and poured the coffee in. I headed to the car to be on my way and began to sip the coffee.
It tasted off in an odd way.
I knew I must NOT have sprinkled Pumpkin Pie spice in my coffee after all. What was it? Oh know, it had to be the cumin my husband left sitting out from the night before.
Okay, go ahead and laugh.
It’s really not funny, but I it is.
Ugh.
My coffee was ruined, and this is how my day began. I try to get it right y’all, but some days I can’t even get my coffee right, let alone my life.
The enemy tries to convince us that we are not good enough. That we have to get it right first.
Good luck with that my friend.
We are not enough and this is okay.
If our relationship with God is a bit messy, if it feels unstable, or we are a little stubborn, or selfish on our end – this is normal. We are tempted to believe that He won’t move on our behalf, hear our prayers, save us, or use us if we don’t have it all together.
Whether you have given your life to Christ or not, this is NOT true. If this were the case not one of us imperfect humans could ever be saved!
Every single day of the week He has shown His love for us first. He put plans in place long ago to reveal His love for us to us.
Jesus died on a cross, rose again, and engaged in this victorious plan, on our behalf, before any of us could fathom a God like this.
A God who loves the unlovable and proves His love by showing us His love first.
A God who made an unfair trade; His sacrifice in exchange for our sins so that we can be free. Who would do that?
This is what the enemy does not want any of us to truly understand: How wide, how deep, and how vast His love is for us.
“God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead” (Ephesians 2:4).
None of us can get it right without God’s help. We were not designed to. Saved or unsaved we can’t do this on our own.
We can’t be good enough, wise enough, important enough, or perfect enough.
None of us make the cut. That’s why we need a savior.
We all fall short until we turn away from our way of living (repent), ask God for forgiveness of our stubborn ways (sin), and invite Him to be our savior and the Lord of our lives (surrender).
Only He can forgive us, and give us the free gift of saving us from a future of separation from His mighty power (salvation).
This is the ultimate gift.
Even when we’ve accepted this gift by faith, we need more of Him all the time. Without His Word, His Spirit, and His power working in and through us, we are not capable of being good enough on our own.
We all make mistakes. We all don’t live up to His standards. None of us will ever be perfect this side of heaven.
He knows this already! There is no need to feel bad, guilty, or less than.
Thank goodness for the mercy, grace, and love of God that is at work in our lives as we open our hearts to Him.
Knowing God is the beginning of an incredible process to becoming more like Jesus, as he chips away at the things that hold us back. He gives us what we need to move forward with purpose in freedom.
He makes us all apart of His family through adoption, with an incredible inheritance.
“His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:5).
We were never meant to be enough on our own.
We were created to be in an intimate relationship with our creator and to do life with others who encourage and complete us in community.
“God is not going to give you a life where He is unnecessary.” – Jabin Chavez
As we draw near to Jesus, he draws near to us in unexpected and beautiful ways and we begin to see our life transformed.
Chin up my friend.
You are NOT enough, I am NOT enough, and this is okay!
So, if you messed up your coffee today; put the milk in the pantry instead of the frig; said the wrong thing to your spouse; forgot your child’s field trip money; forgot your friend’s Birthday; or this season of life has worn you down. It’s okay.
You don’t have to be enough. God is!
Hopefully as we realize we will never get it perfect and we let go of guilt, we can then ask God to help us grow in Him by His power working in us.
I love this scripture broken down in practical steps (All the parenthesis are my words):
“Rejoice (choose joy).
Change your ways (continually grow).
Encourage each other (be in community).
Live In harmony and peace (have unity).
Then the God of love and peace will be with you.” 2nd Corinthians 13:11 (NLT)
I don’t know y’all, but I think these four things could radically transform our lives if they become a part of who we are and what we do.
Cheering you on in this journey. When nothing adds up, God is still enough.
In it with you, friend!
With much love and grace,
Joelle Povolni
P.S. If this post has spoken to your heart you may enjoy this, It’s Okay To Break
