Christ is Enough

For the month of December, we are sharing some hope for the Holidays. While for some, Christmastime is looked forward to all year. For an increasing number of others, stress, pressure and the inability to ever feel like you’re measuring up can cast a dark cloud over the whole season. Today, we are going to be speaking directly to those issues, so stick with us as we answer just how the Gospel can lift the burdens from your holiday and your life!

I have a lot of mixed memories when it comes to Christmas. It has always been my favorite holiday since I was a kid and I used to love being able to get together with all of our extended family at my great-grandmother's house for us all to celebrate together. At the same time, our household was not as well off as many of the rest of our family. There were some years that we would even be returning from the family celebration back to a homeless shelter. When many of my friends were happy to have a couple of weeks off of school for Christmas break, my experience as a teenager was very different as I never actually attended High School and, instead, was working to help support my family from the age of 15 forward. Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I am not sharing any of this so that you will feel bad for me, be impressed with how far I’ve come since then or even be reminded to be more grateful for what you have now. I am sharing all of that with you because I want you to know that I understand what it means to feel the stress and pressure that can steal away the joy of one of the most special times of year. Even today, as a married adult with my own family now, I will still sometimes wrestle with the desire to want to go crazy and give my kids everything they could possibly want for Christmas and knowing that we just don’t have the money for it. We’re nowhere near where we were when I was growing up, but there is still that nagging voice that every once in a while, pops up to tell me that what I'm doing still isn’t enough. So, what do we do with that?

Let's face it, if we turn on the tv, open up a social media app or go online for anything, we are going to be bombarded with the commercialized Christmas sales pitches showing you everything you need for you and your family to be happy this year. At the same time, prices on everything are going up and our dollars are getting stretched thinner and thinner. It’s like a perfect storm designed with the intention to guilt you into overextending and then still feeling like you aren’t doing enough. In our current world, many of us have gotten so caught up in the pursuit of comfort and entertainment, that we will never be able to be satisfied and contentment is like a word from another language. All of this happening at the time of year when we are supposedly celebrating the birth of Jesus. We often say that He is our everything, that He is our provider, that He is our source of joy and fulfillment, but how quickly do our attentions and affections get drawn away by all of these temporary things that actually rob us of our joy and leave us empty?

To help us refocus our thoughts and affections back on Him, we want to share with you a few verses to keep on hand for when you are feeling stressed, under pressure and not stacking up this Christmas. Now, we want to be careful to say that “slapping a Bible verse on the problem” doesn’t actually fix anything. If you try to use these like a chant or a magic spell to make your stress disappear, it might work momentarily, but it will be back soon enough and then you’ll be adding doubt to your problems as you wonder why it didn’t work. There is a big difference between knowing a truth and believing it. You can know that Christ is enough at a head level and then try to put that into practice by saying, “Well, then, I just need to have faith that He is going to give me enough money to pay off my credit cards, so I’ll just buy everything on everyone’s lists.” That’s not what we’re suggesting for you to do. If you truly believe that Christ is enough, then you recognize that you don’t need the game system, the big screen tv, the newest phone or whatever the hottest gift of the year is, He is actually sufficient and you are able to find your deepest joy and satisfaction in relationship with Him. Hopefully that clears some things up, so here are some verses to meditate on over the coming weeks.

“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” - Philippians 4:10-13

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:6-7

And finally:

And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. - Luke 12:22-31

We hope that you’ve found today’s video encouraging. If you know someone else who may be dealing with stress or feeling like they just aren’t enough, remind them that it is Christ who is sufficient. Let us know what you thought or leave us your questions in the comments below!