He is Enough

At church this past Sabbath, Pastor talked about how we tend to think that if we can get this one thing-that opportunity, that job, that person, that whatever-we will be happier. It comes to us, and yet we find that after awhile, the old empty feeling returns. He talked about how it even happened to him. He thought that once he could get his book published-the company had rejected it-he would be satisfied. It was eventually published, but he said he then asked himself, "Now what?" After some time he realized what he had been missing-a relationship with Christ. Without meaning to, he had shifted his focus from Him to things, expecting them to fulfill the need that only GOD can fill. He brought out how it some of the early Adventist leaders fell prey to this, such as James White, husband of Ellen White. Take, for example, this quote written by him a relatively short time before his death:

"With some there is an unutterable yearning for Christ, and the writer is one of this class. With some of us it has been business, work, and care, giving Christ but little room in the mind and in the affections. With others it has been nearly all theory, dwelling upon the law and the prophets, the nature and destiny of man, and the messages, while destitute, to an alarming degree, of an indwelling Christ." Review and Herald, February 8, 1881.

I never would have guessed James White would have written this, but it simply shows that it doesn't matter your position-you can still be missing Jesus. And as I listened to the sermon, it dawned on me that I too had been distracted unawares. Being disabled, I have often felt almost subhuman because I didn't yet have employment. I felt the absence more keenly than I think others would, because being unemployed served to justify (in my mind) opinions others may have about people like me being literally no use to society. I thought that once I had a job-an official job that paid wages-I would be content. Sitting there in the fellowship hall of the church, I realized that if I was given one, the hole would still be there. Why? I was depending on it to make me satisfied. And it never would have. Only Jesus can do that. It isn't a sin to enjoy being useful, or to enjoy any other good gift-but we should never expect them to fill us-that ability, that right, belongs to Christ, and Christ alone.

I see Paul's words in Philippians 4:11 in a whole new light: "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to [therewith] be content." He could do that, because no matter what, he had Jesus. And I can to, by His grace. I'm still jobless, but it no longer bothers me like it used to. It doesn't matter anymore if I never make a penny myself in my entire life. I have Jesus, and He is enough.

What about you?

Sincerely,
Adelaide