But Is It Enough?
This is a concept I really didn’t understand for most of my life. Having believed on Jesus to pay for my sins since I was 5, I spent most of my life thinking I needed to somehow earn what Jesus did for me—not to save me, but to maybe deserve it or prove I appreciated it enough maybe?
There was a LOT of self-effort & willpower battles to try to force myself into submission to God’s will & way. It was exhausting… I felt like a constant failure at it… & I lived with a lot of shame because I never felt I could quite get it right.
But ever since reading Andrew Murray’s book on Prayer, (linked in the “Recommended by Michelle” BOOKS section of my website), my whole perspective of a life lived well for God has flipped on its head.
1) I Will Never be “Good Enough,” 2) Jesus Paid for That in Full, & 3) God Promises to HELP Me Live for Him
Now I understand the reality three-fold. One, I will never be good enough & I will never measure up & I will never get it right all the time… AND Jesus paid for all of that.
But even more importantly, I learned that God WILL HELP me to live for Him if I but SURRENDER to that help over my own self-efforts & failures.
What a GAME CHANGER! What a LIFE changer!
No longer do I have to live in guilt that I am “not doing it well enough” because it is not at all up to me anyway! I can bow all of my insufficiencies to Him Who MADE me & let His help fill in my gaps instead.
How much PEACE this has brought to my life… How much VICTORY.
All It Takes Is a Willing & Surrendered Heart
Do you realize that if you have trusted on Jesus’ death on the cross & rising again victorious over sin & death (Read more about that, in my previous post: “Have You Met Jesus?”), you don’t have to live for God by your own self-efforts?
All. It. Takes. Is. A. Willing. And. Surrendered-to-Him. Heart.
That is IT.
No more do you have to walk in shame of, “Oh, I have tried SO many times to have quiet time with God & it never works out.”
Never again do you have to live in defeat of, “Oh, I WANT to study His Word & read the Bible, but I always [have a headache, can’t concentrate, get distracted, get bored, etc.].”
You don’t have to give up & say, “I want to serve/give, but I don’t feel I have the means/time to do it.”
If you really do have a willing heart, you also have the GOD ALMIGHTY right there, making His raised-Jesus-from-the-dead POWER available to you!
Your Willingness as Your Offering to Him
You literally just have to take your empty hands full of ONLY willingness, offer it up to Him, & say, “God, please give me what I need to do this thing for You, so I may please & honor You. Supply where I lack.” –And TRUST Him to do JUST THAT.
Do you believe He CAN help you?
Do you believe He has enough POWER to help you?
Do you believe it is really something that HONORS & PLEASES Him?
THEN TRUST HE WILL SUPPLY WHERE YOU FALL SHORT.
Stop living in, “I want to, BUT ______________” mentality & start living in, “I want to, SO, God, this is where I feel insufficient or am struggling, so please help cover that so I may do this thing to please & honor You.”
Less Try, More Trust–Self-Effort Vs. Surrendered to Assured Victory
Abraham was full ready to sacrifice his son Isaac because he trusted God WOULD supply (Genesis 22:1-19)… it even says in another chapter that he understood that even if God had him go through with it, God could raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19), so his trust in God was SOLID regardless of the outcome!
Is yours?
Do you trust Him to supply? Do you believe in less try, more trust? Do you truly believe you need less self-effort & more surrender to His assured victory to do what you feel you can’t?
Are you using it as an excuse not to try because it seems too impossible, too stress-inducing, too much time required, etc.? Or is it really only because you never thought to ask God to fill in where you lack?
What excuses are you maybe using? Where is Satan convincing you not to try because it seems too hard for you to reasonably accomplish?
Shine HOPE by laying down your willingness at the feet of God, asking for His power to cover & fill where you fall short. And trust He will do just that. And KEEP trusting each time you struggle versus giving up with the slightest resistance. Because He CAN. And He WILL.
Coming Next Week
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As God grows me, may it encourage you to seek Him & know Him & love Him more every day.
A Note from Michelle:
(***Check out my FREE Journal Printable Resources: “Accountability Partner Guide + Question Prompts” & “Bible Study Question Prompts ,” as well as “Prayers of Surrender” prayer guides!***)
This blog/website has been running for 6.5 years now! THANK YOU for your continued support & encouragement. <3
If you would like to learn more of my story, check out the “About Me” tab. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” tab, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3
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Fashion as a Force for GOOD:
Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Consider these pieces when shopping for friends, family, or yourself. Check out this week’s featured beauty!!
Kitchen Gift Set (NEPAL + INDIA)
While Supplies Last! Shop to save over $50 on this stunning gift set perfect for the homebody in your life!
Purchase this artisanal gift set that creates safe jobs for women in India and Nepal. The Kitchen Gift Set pairs the Capri Utensil Set, Villa Spoon Rest, and Sicilian Grove Tea Towel to create a fun fair-trade look perfect for gifting or styling yourself!
(***Purchase this handcrafted set, using the “Shop Here” link below to empower women in Nepal & India out of poverty!***)
How You Can Help Artisans around the World AND Help Support My Website:
#1 is PRAY. Financial help is great & helps pay my website fees & helps support these women artisans… but God’s help is always needed most… both for encouragement & for spiritual hope, through Jesus, for the women we support through our ethical fashion purchases. Always PRAY first.
SHOP Here, OR, Email me at michellehyde.tradesofhope@gmail.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!
Your purchases not only help these women, but my commissions help me in continuing this website/blog, encouraging women all around the world with the HOPE we have in Jesus. Win-win-win!
Love ya lots! Have a wonderful week living for His glory in all that you do!
