It had been a rough day. I had spent every waking moment of the day with my daughter. We had played. We had gone on a fun outing. We had cooked together, read together, cleaned together, and sung together. We had done everything together. But when it came time for me to make dinner, she didn’t want to play by herself. She didn’t want me to stop giving her attention. Even after this full day where I had focused on nothing but her, it wasn’t enough.

I remember crying to my husband that night. “I will never be enough!” I sobbed. “No matter how much I give to her, it will never be enough.” Anxiety and frustration began creeping into my soul at the thought. How could I expend so much effort and energy and have it still not be enough? How could I continue to maintain this level of seeking to fulfill my daughter?

The next morning, I studied Exodus 3–4. These chapters recount the call of Moses. The Lord appears to him in the fiery bush and calls him to be the leader of Israel, to bring them out of slavery. To say that Moses resists is an understatement. He does his very best to get out of this call that God has placed on his life. His insecurity sounds loud and clear as he tells God over and over again, “I think you have the wrong man.”

You see, Moses had once tried to accomplish this task in his own strength. In Exodus 2:11-15 Moses set himself up as the savior of Israel. He took matters into his own hands and killed an Egyptian who was oppressing one of his fellow Israelites. Though his motives were just, his actions were not. He acted in his own strength as a self-appointed deliverer rather than waiting on the Lord. Afraid of the consequences of his actions, Moses then fled to Midian. He left his position as a prince in Egypt and was humbled for forty years as he tended sheep in the desert.

So when God appears to him and commissions him with the task of leading his people, Moses balks. He remembers past failure, and he feels unequal to the task. Moses repeatedly questions God. What if this happens? What if that happens? What if they say this? What if they do this? To each objection, God responds by voicing the greatness of his power. It isn’t Moses who will lead the people out of Egypt—God will. He will use Moses as his voice and vessel, but it is God who will do this great work of deliverance. Take a look at some of the dialogue:

Exodus 3:11-14 (ESV)
“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’ He said, ‘But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.’
Then Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am. And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

Exodus 3:19-20 (ESV)
“But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.”

Did you catch it? Each time Moses offers an objection of what he cannot do, God replies with what he can do. Moses says, “Who am I?” God replies, “I will be with you.” Moses asks God, “What is your name?” God replies, “I am who I am.” To each of the inadequacies raised, God replies with the assurance of his power and of what he will do. “I am not enough!” Moses objects. To which God replies, “I AM!”

This passage slapped me in the face with truth and stopped me in my tracks. Because what I had been whining about to my husband the day before was true, but I was looking at it all the wrong way. I will never be enough for my daughter. I will never be enough for my son, for my husband, for my family, for my friends. I will never be enough. BUT CHRIST IS! Christ is more than enough. It is when I look to myself and my own power that this truth is crippling and fills me with despair. But when I look to the glorious Father who has condescended to make himself known to me, I can rest assured in the knowledge that he is indeed enough.

And this truth of my insufficiency and of his fullness needs to be passed on to my children. It isn’t my role to be enough for them. I will let them down, cause them frustration, and make mistakes. I was never intended to be enough for them. Rather, it is my role to point them to the One who is enough. It is my job to gladly boast in my weaknesses in order that the power of Christ may be made manifest in me (2 Corinthians 12:9).  

How freeing it is to lay down this burden of inadequacy before the throne of grace in humble awe of the God who is enough. It is a burden that I have to lay down frequently and replace with the discipline of humble worship. Because, friend, I want to be enough. My pride wars within my spirit and wants to do this all on my own. The enemy, the accuser, whispers to me of my insecurities, my shortcomings, my failures. He takes that truth that I am not enough, and he twists it. But I cannot, I will not, dwell in the lie. I choose to rejoice in the glorious truth that I serve an almighty God who has freely bestowed more than enough grace to cover every sin, every inadequacy, every insecurity, and every weakness. He is enough.

So, dear friend, lay your inadequacy down today at the foot of the cross and embrace the glorious Savior who has covered you in his righteousness. Embrace the great I AM today and rejoice in this great truth: He is indeed enough.