Is It Ever Enough?

I have to be honest with you. Being a pastor (or a spiritual leader) is one of the most fulfilling roles that anyone could ever imagine. We get to be a part of the critical moments where people take transformational steps of faith that have an impact for all of ETERNITY. 

We lead people to salvation. Baptize new believers. Preach the very Word of God. Flow in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Marry couples who are in love and want to establish a life together. We get to dedicate babies. Be there at someone’s side at crisis moments to provide wisdom, comfort, and encouragement. 

But there are challenging moments we face in our roles, as well. Burying someone we love. Watching a couple we married call it quits. Having a close friend leave the church. And then there is just the exhaustion of it all. 

Statistics tell us that 42% of those currently in ministry have serious thoughts of resigning and leaving the ministry. But let’s be clear, this trend is not just influenced by the natural challenges we face, but also by the powers of darkness that are at work against us. The voice of the enemy, the voice of our fears and inadequacies, and sometimes the voices of our critics all cry out in unison…“YOU ARE NOT ENOUGH! You don't measure up. You don't have what it takes. You are deficient and unworthy of loyalty, support, and leadership."

And all of that is actually true...in a sense. Paul writes, in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29,

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

None of us were selected because we have it all together, but because we did not and therefore, could not depend on ourselves. God receives the most glory through flawed but dependent human vessels. 
We still feel the pressure though, don't we? Knowing that we are only here by grace provides a baseline of expectations that we should meet but then there are the expectations of those who consistently let us know they feel we are failing them. 

Here's a few conclusions that I think God wants to remind us of today.

#1 - Pleasing God has to be ENOUGH. 

When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7). There is something freeing about the reality that my responsibility is to serve for an audience of ONE. If God is pleased, and others are unhappy, it is going to be okay. 

This doesn't mean we ignore our critics. We can learn from them. Neither does this verse imply that we can treat others poorly, or respond in anger. Pleasing God is as much about our attitude and our responses as it is anything else. It's holistic. I please God with what I do and with what I choose not to do; with how I treat my enemies and with how I treat myself.

#2 - Obeying God has to be ENOUGH.

I am not certain who said this, but I agree with this statement: "God never called us to be successful. He only asks us to be obedient." Consider what God said to Jeremiah when he called him to act. 

“So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you." (Jeremiah 7:27). 

Jeremiah was asked to do something in spite of the lack of results he would see. Can you imagine? No one was inviting Jeremiah to the church growth conferences to speak! But in God’s eyes, Jeremiah's obedience was enough.

#3 - Enjoying God has to be ENOUGH. 

I love the words that were spoken to those who were rebuilding Jerusalem in the book of Nehemiah. They had endured disgrace and shame. For seventy years the Israelite people had lived in captivity; their city walls were broken down and their temple decimated. After several months of effort and effectiveness in rebuilding the walls, they had a reality check moment. 

Ezra started reading from the law of God. He described the consequences of their disobedience and how if they failed to keep the covenant, all of their hard work would again come crumbling down. Under the pressure of this revelation, the people started to weep. Fear gripped them as they began to recognize, "if we do all of this work, who is to say a future generation could lose it all?  Or that even we ourselves might see it all crumble?”

The leaders spoke to the people in Nehemiah 8:9-10:

 “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

There is a time to review what's broken. There's a time to look at an event or a service, and design ways to make it better. There's a time to listen to your last sermon and critique it so you can improve. But this has to be in balance.  We should not consistently live in judgment of ourselves and of our failings. We need to live in joy.

Joy is not dependent on success nor is it diminished by failure! Rather, joy is completely a relational thing. We are infused with joy by the Holy Spirit when we make room by slowing down and enjoying the beauty of what it is to be in partnership with God. 

Maybe it's time to realize that in Him...it is ENOUGH.