Am I Enough?

Have you ever found yourself wondering if you will ever be good enough? Maybe you think you aren't good enough to be with someone, or maybe you don't think you're qualified enough for that job position you want? Self-doubt is a never-ending battle that takes place in our minds. More than likely, nobody can see the struggle between you and your own thoughts. When these hurtful thoughts starting flooding our mind, some of us turn to friends or family for reassurance, and some people keep it all inside and try to deal with it by themselves. Whether you seek out help or don't, nothing will ever change unless you go to the right person for assurance when you don't feel like you are enough. When you look deep into the core of self-doubt, you will find that a lot of it stems from the desire to please others. It's in our human nature to want approval from others. As a little kid, do you remember seeking the approval of your parents? Can you remember when you got a good grade on a test and your first instinct was to run and show mom or dad? I know that's how I was as a child, and that's how I still am as an adult. The natural desire to please people isn't something that just goes away as you get older. However, it's important to remember who it is most important to please. Rather than living to please others, live to please the Lord. We don't need the approval of people. To be completely honest, you will never be able to please everyone, and this is an easy opening for self-doubt to slip in. When you are focused on trying to please everyone, your attention will be taken off of the Lord, and that is exactly when the devil will plant seeds of doubt in your mind. The best advice that I can give anyone who struggles with self-doubt is to focus less on what the world thinks of you and more on how the Lord views you. Anytime that the devil tries to use doubt to pull your focus off of God, I advise you to go to your Bible for counsel. The Bible is how God communicates with us, and everything that you need to fight these thoughts is in the Bible. A few passages that you can look at when struggling with self-doubt are the following:

• "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

• "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

• "God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early." Psalm 46:5

• "And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Mark 11: 22-24

• "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

• “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

It is so important that you remember that, in the eyes of the Lord, you are more than enough. The very God of this world has created you for a reason, and He has promised to be with you every step of the way. The Lord will never leave you. Stay true to who you are and stand firm for what you believe. When you are walking with the Lord, satan will use people and circumstances to try to discourage you. John 15:18-19 says,

" If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."

As a Christian, you are going to face persecution, but the Lord will never allow satan to give you more than you can handle. My pastor once said that when it seems like the world is against you, it's usually a sign that you are on the right path because you are walking with the Lord. At the end of the day, you do not need the approval of the world. You need the approval of Christ, and He has already given it to you freely.

With Love,

Haylee