You ARE Enough.

As I sat wrapped up in my cozy granny square quilt this icy afternoon, I could feel my heart slow and shoulders relax. After several weeks of being "on" non-stop, this snow day seems to be exactly what the doctor ordered so that I can truly turn off and tune into the One who knows me most deeply.

The fire is raging {that I made all by my big-girl-self, I might add} and I'm digging into the lesson I'm supposed to be teaching tomorrow night for our Embrace Grace girls. We've gone through so much together already - discussing shame and guilt, conviction and perception. But this week, the title of our chapter is Revelation, discussing lies Satan speaks and how we are to combat them with the Word of God, otherwise known as the Sword of the Spirit.

As I read through my lesson, I was praying about a concrete example I could give these girls from my life. I couldn't think of anything right off hand that I think Satan is whispering to me currently, nothing just came up off the top of my head. 

So I brewed myself a cup of tea, got a few thin mints and sat back down with my journal open and bible ready. All at once, the lies came flooding back to me and tears started streaming down my face.

You are not enough. 

I cannot tell you how long I've let Satan speak this lie to me. Over and over I let him whisper half-truths and use less than ideal circumstances to seep into the depths of my heart. They melt over the Truth that I've spent years hiding away. Despite my protests and valiant efforts to distract myself, the lies kept coming.

You are not enough. 

I've had a handful of friendships, both deep + distanced, break down over the past year. No matter how it happened or who is at fault, it is - and has been - an incredibly painful process. There are reasons for these break downs, some wise and some petty, but this is what Satan has loved to use to whisper ugliness into my heart.

You are not enough. They didn't think you were enough. You weren't good enough. Pretty enough. Smart enough. You didn't listen enough. You couldn't get together enough. You weren't loud enough. Quiet enough. Tough enough. Sensitive enough. Caring enough. Thoughtful enough. 

Enough.

I'm almost positive I'm not the only one who has dealt with this exact set of lies.  As women, we crave relationship - and close friendship - which is completely biblical. I mean, Jesus had the masses, the twelve and then the three. I'm blessed with the twelve and the three. But that doesn't mean it's without struggle... without battle... without the lies that threaten to destroy not only these friendships but our well-being and dependence on Him.

As women, we crave purpose - beyond finding identity in our kids or our husbands. Being told that we aren't enough, hits us on all sides, doesn't it? The lie of not being enough bleeds through in relationships, in our marriages, in our schools, in our friendships, at our home at our churches.

As I was pouring out my heart on paper, God gently reminded me that my story doesn't end here. Even though it returns here, quite often. In December, God gave me this scripture to speak over those lies that creep in and I thought it just might help one of you in the battle today.

"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." Phillippians 4:8

This does not mean that we will be perfect.... or that we will never fight this battle again. In fact, I find it a daily choice for me to choose the Truth over the lies here in this battleground. I think it's interesting though, that immediately after writing these words to the Philippians, Paul says "the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." {verse 9}.

Doesn't it seem odd that Paul, the man that used to make it his life's purpose to find and murder Christ followers, is now saying "practice these things which you've seen and heard in me"?!? If there is anyone that could have struggled with not being enough for God to use, wouldn't it have been him? Yet here he is, in the middle of prison, demonstrating how to choose and be Truth. I don't know about you, but that gives me tremendous hope as my own battles rage!

Maybe you find yourself in the trenches of this battle today. Maybe it's a different battle with Satan, or maybe it's a friend's fight... but it's deep and ugly and heavy. Be encouraged by this verse. Train your brain to dwell on the Truth - not what we perceive to be true. To dwell on what is RIGHT - not what went wrong. Once satan gets that stronghold, it is incredibly tough to get him out of there. A dear friend spoke Truth over me in front of my family + friends recently and simply said "You are enough" and it meant the world to me. It was like God was speaking through her - I am enough.With Him, I am enough.

Let me be the one to speak Truth over you today.

YOU are enough... 
If YOU are His. 
YOU are a daughter of the King who will NOT. BE. MOVED. 
YOU are enough.

Don't let satan speak those lies to you today! Remember that victory is OURS!!!!