If Feeling Inadequate Was an Olympic Event . . .

I’m not ______ enough. You can fill that blank in with “smart,” “talented,” “gifted,” “spiritual,” or any number of positive attributes. But the root source of each one of those lies is, “I’m not good enough.” It is one of the enemy’s favorite weapons, and he uses it to keep God’s children in bondage to feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy. The bottom line is this: The enemy wants you to believe that you are “not enough.” Period. 

It seems the true fact “I’m not good enough to earn my way to heaven” has become “I’m not good enough . . . period.” And yet, we are so valuable to God that He gave His only Son to restore our broken relationship with Him. Through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the moment you believe, you become a child of God who is equipped by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and embraced by Jesus.

To be honest, for most of my life I could have been the poster child for the lie of “I’m not good enough.” If feeling inadequate was an Olympic event, I would have been on the Wheaties box. It was the undercurrent of my entire existence until I finally realized who I was in Christ.

God’s Word says I am valuable to God (Matt. 6:26), indwelled by Christ (John 14:20), justified by Christ’s blood (Rom. 5:9), set free from sin (Rom. 6:18), free from condemnation (Rom. 8:1), more than a conqueror through Christ (Rom. 8:37), a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), chosen by God (Eph. 1:1), holy and dearly loved by God (Col. 1:22) and blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3). And if you are a Christian, then that’s who you are, too. Let me ask you the same question God asked me: Who are you going to believe?

Many women are living in silent defeat, comparing themselves to other women who are living in secret defeat. I’m not a good mother. I’m not a good wife. I’m not a good Christian. I’m not a good witness. I’m not a good housekeeper. I’m not a good decorator. I’m not a good cook. I’m not a good . . . . Women are caught in a cycle of the “I’m not good enoughs.”

Unfortunately, I wasted many precious years held captive by the enemy’s lies before I held up my chained hands to God and said, “I’m ready for you to set me free.”

The truth is, if you have experienced new birth in Christ, when God looks at you, He sees a redeemed, chosen, dearly loved child who is completely forgiven, fully pleasing, and totally accepted . . . and that is more than enough.

What “I’m not _____ enough” lie(s) have you been believing? And what truth can you replace that lie with today?