God Is Sufficient
BY PAOLA ROSARIO
“God has promised to supply our needs. What we don’t have now we don’t need now.”
There are many times when I have failed to live in the present moment. As a young woman, I am quite familiar with longing for a stage of life I am not currently in. When I was in high school, I couldn’t wait to become a college student. Being a college student, I counted the days until I would finally graduate and leave college life behind. Now that I am in the workplace, I have often caught myself wondering when the next milestone will be, daydreaming about the feelings of fulfillment and realization a new accomplishment might bring me.
Looking back, there is no doubt that my inclination towards discontentment has affected my life in many ways. Sure, God has always been in the works and, in his abundant mercy and grace, has never forsaken me. In moments of emotional sobriety and spiritual clarity, I am struck by the undeniable reality that the Lord has been so, so good to me over the years.
There was one particular night during my college years where I felt so distressed that I began to cry in bed. I asked my mother to help me pray, after which we had a long conversation about what was in my heart. Turns out that my chronic dissatisfaction had several roots, among them, a lack of gratitude.
Yes, maybe it sounds cliché. Who hasn’t been told that it’s important to be grateful? I felt offended at first and didn’t want to accept my mother’s words. However, the more I meditated on them, the more I became aware of the true state of my heart. Indeed, my desire for what I didn’t yet have and hadn’t yet achieved was consuming me. Whatever I had chosen to rejoice in and find in contentment in, it was certainly not God.
Perhaps like me you’ve also struggled with embracing the present with a grateful heart. Thoughts of discontentment frequently creep into your mind as you wonder if there’s something you might be missing out on…a greater calling to pursue or task waiting to be done. However, dear friend, if there’s one thing I am learning is that true joy comes from loving Christ and living for Him. No matter who we are or wherever we're at in our walk with God, we have already been entrusted with the greatest of callings; to live a life that brings Him glory (Psalm 115:1, John 15:8). This should awaken in us a deep sense of awe and gratitude (Psalm 7:17). Moreover, it should encourage us to ponder how we are to steward all areas of our lives in light of this truth (Colossians 3:23, 1 Corinthians 4:2).
I can speak confidently about this because of my own experience. For example, like many Christian women (and women in general), I long to one day marry and build a family. This desire though, however noble, can become an idol if not placed at the feet of Jesus. Having recently ended a relationship I felt hopeful about, I am coming to terms with the fact that there is still a lot of maturing that needs to occur before I can join my life to another’s. I am thankful for God’s protection, care, and provision for me during this season, as he aligns my desires with His, and teaches me to love Him and others both faithfully and genuinely.
Ask yourself: Do you trust God when He says He is sufficient for you, right here, right now? Are you choosing to live your current season of life with gratitude before the Lord? Are you seeking to grow in wisdom and in your understanding of Christ during this time? (Proverbs 1:7, 2 Peter 3:18) Do you desire Him and His glory above all things? Being grateful does not make our unmet desires and unfulfilled longings magically disappear. It does, however, change the posture of our hearts. It moves us from a place of bitterness to a place of contentment as we meditate on God and His goodness in our lives (Psalm 103:1-2).
It's not about how close our circumstances are to what we want them to be, but how fast we cling to God in the midst of our circumstances, whatever they may be. So today, choose to believe that his grace is enough for you in this moment of your life (2 Corinthians 12:9). His presence goes before you...to help you love and respect those difficult coworkers, to perform your everyday tasks, to forgive anyone who has wronged you, to continue praying for that relative who has not yet surrendered to Christ, to give you strength as you work towards your professional or academic goals, to share the gospel with your unsaved neighbors, to wait for God's provision in the midst of your need, to walk in God's call for your life, to obey His good and perfect will.
Rejoice and be grateful for what God is currently doing in your life, as He continues to conform you into the image of his Son.
Romans 8:29
“Because God is with you all the time, no place is any closer to God than the place where you are right now.”