Is Jesus Enough?

Our pastor at Crew Church in Huntington often says that we preach the saving message of the gospel of Jesus every week because people need to know that He is the one thing that is never ending, never changing and ever fulfilling.

“When children die, when you lose your job, or when you get cancer,” Pastor Josh Perry says while lifting up his Bible, “you’ve got something to hold on to.”

This takes me to the Old Testament where we find Job – a man of God who has been blessed many times over with a large family, servants, livestock and land.

Satan challenges God, saying that Job is so faithful because he has been so blessed. He tells the Lord that if it is all taken away, Job will curse God.

So, in a series of what we might call unfortunate events, his livestock was stolen, his servants were killed and his children were crushed when a mighty wind blew in the house.

After all this, Job’s response is one of awe and example. He proclaims that the Lord has given and the Lord has taken away. But blessed be the name of the Lord.

A favorite Christian song of mine boasts that message with “Every blessing you pour out, I’ll turn back to praise. And when the darkness closes in, still I will say, blessed be the name of the Lord.”

It wasn’t until this summer when I read Job that I found the song’s inspiration. I had previously thought it was from Psalms, by an author who was going through a tough time. But then I read that the song’s origins come from Job 1:20, from a man who has just lost everything.

For Job, the Lord was enough.

Fast forward to Philippians 4:10-13. The Apostle Paul is thanking those who have prayed for him and making a bold statement that despite his need, he has learned “to be content whatever the circumstances.”

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty,” Paul writes. “I have learned the secret of being content in any situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether in plenty or in want.”

Then, in the famous verse 13, Paul reveals the secret is that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him.

Paul boldly states that Jesus is enough.

Fast forward 2,000 years to you and me, here and now. Life is hard. Life is unfair. Jobs are tough to find. We’ve got students loans bearing down on us. We’ve got marriages collapsing under adultery and pornography. We’ve got children stricken with cancer. We’ve got investment accounts losing value. We've got crime fueled by drug addictions.

With all that happening around you, what are you holding on to? What is the source of your strength? I will boldly say that any source other than Jesus is a finite resource.

We think oil will last forever, but someday, our grandchildren or great-grandchildren will have to deal with the serious prospect of a world without a major oil supply. That’s why we’re pushing renewable energy.

Energy that won’t deplete, that’s as constant as the sun.

For me, that’s Jesus. He is the SON.

I’m not going to sit here and say that I’ve faced all those hardships and screamed “Jesus is enough!”

There have been some rough patches for us. A pregnancy that involved many complications, hospital stays and a premature birth; witnessing my son have a febrile seizure caused by a spiking fever and holding his limp body in my arms until an ambulance arrived and then an evening in the hospital; personal attacks and job loss; and the everyday headaches of life – flat tires, hot water tank bursting and even the diagnosis of a major food allergy that makes it difficult to eat out and expensive to purchase the right foods.

Thankfully, my family has chosen to say Jesus is enough.

The truth is, Jesus has to be enough. God made each and every one of us with a missing piece in our hearts that only Christ can fill. And it’s a piece that bridges the gap for us to commune with our Father in heaven. It’s a savior that makes it possible for all our sins to be forgiven. And it’s a relationship that brings eternal life in heaven with all those who have trusted Jesus and his death on the cross.

I invite you to pray on that today. Feel free to email me at wpr7573@yahoo.com if you have any questions or want someone to pray for you.

I may or may not know you, but I love you. I love you because Jesus, with nails in his hands and feet and a crown of thorns on his head, looked at me with all my junk and said, “I love you this much.”

That has to be enough.
If you don’t know Him, I’d love to invite you to Crew Church on Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m., at the old high school on 8th Street and 9th Avenue.