Time-Out

 

May 2012

Good Enough

By Sarah Dufour

It breaks our hearts to hear words like “I’m stupid,” “I can’t do it,” and “I’m not good enough” come out of the mouths of our children. Our certain reply can sound something like this, “Who told you that?! Why do you think that?  You are not stupid! You can do it! You are good enough!” The reality is these words plague us too. When these words swirl through our head and ring out like a blaring horn let us remember there are 3 ways in which these painful words are communicated: 1) By our own self 2) By someone else 3) By the Enemy. The Enemy whispers these awful words to us, undoubtedly, but he is a capitalist, he’s no dummy. He takes full advantage of 1 and 2.  He can take our unworthy thoughts and actions and those of others and keep us pre-occupied and bound believing the painful lie.  It’s his life’s work to get us to think we are unworthy.  

Stop. There is a rebuttal for 1, 2, and 3 from above. There are the thoughts, words and actions of God that He did, does, declares, and pours out to us.

I have loved you with an ever-lasting love; I have drawn you with loving –kindness. Jeremiah 31:3

It is he who made us, we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Psalm 100:3

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him. This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1John 4:9-10

Let us say it out loud, “God could never and would never, ever communicate words of not good enough to us or treat us like we were.  Never.  Ever.”  Can you hear our Fathers Truth, His certain reply, “Who told you that?!  Tell me why you think that? You are not stupid! You can do it! You are more than good enough!”

We may contend with God, telling Him all the reasons we think we are not, but Jesus’ love, power and authority trump 1, 2 and 3.

Lord, thank you for loving us like you do. Thank you for deeming us your beautiful workmanship and treating us with utmost worth, even in our worst moments and decisions. There is nothing that could say how you value us more than sending Jesus to die in our place.  Let this Truth blare the loudest.