I Am Adequate
"Not that we are adequate (sufficient and qualified)
in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves,
but our adequacy is from God."
2 Corinthians 3:5
Soon after we moved into my childhood home, my mom taped the measuring stick to the wall in the laundry room. I still remember the feeling of backing up to the “O. W. Jones Hardware” wooden yard stick. I was eager to see how much I had grown since the last measurement. Being the youngest of three always left me feeling an inch too short in many ways. As the marks on the wall inched higher and higher, it seemed to prove I wasn’t the baby anymore, and hopefully I was measuring up in my Daddy’s eyes. I learned that the way to his heart was to obey him and do everything as perfectly as possible. This wasn’t from lack of love and acceptance, but my inborn desire to perform, please and be adequate in every way.
You can imagine how this measuring up and striving to do everything perfectly spilled over into my spiritual life. I wanted to back up to God’s wall of rules and laws and check them off perfectly. I must be sufficient, qualified and adequate in every way by my performance. Standing on my spiritual tip toes straining to prove I was good, acceptable and adequate made for a tired woman. You may be asking, “How did that work for you?” Honestly, it didn’t work at all because I could never measure up.
I am so thankful that God revealed the truth that Jesus backed up to a wooden cross and measured up for me. His payment was more than sufficient and suitable to provide for my adequacy in Him. Many years later, I am still being overwhelmed by this amazing grace. I cannot earn it. I don’t have to perform for it. I don’t deserve it. This grace is who God is. I am acceptable because He laid Himself up against that cross and bled out for me.
It is so freeing to know that I can never measure up or make the mark, but Jesus already did it for me. I can live in my weakness with Him as my strength. I can be less than, because He is greater than. I can fail miserably, because He succeeded greatly. I can back myself up to all the law and rules every day, but on my own I will never measure up. I’m learning to look at His adequacy and find my marks checked off in Him.
Adequate...
Acceptable…
Sufficient…
Enough...
Forgiven…
Loved…
Go ahead and back up to the cross and smile….”I Am Adequate” because “He Is Adequate”.
“Lord, thank you for your amazing grace that paid for all my sins and makes me completely acceptable to God.”