You Are Enough

For the girl who is constantly wondering if she measures up.

There is a question so many girls quietly carry around:

“Am I enough?”

Am I pretty enough?

Am I smart enough?

Am I funny enough?

Am I popular enough?

Am I talented enough?

Am I successful enough?

Am I a good enough friend?

Am I Christian enough?

Sometimes, it feels like the answer is always no.

And the hardest part is that sometimes the people we love can make us feel this way, too. Maybe it is a friend who leaves you out. A parent who compares you to someone else. A boy who makes you feel like you have to look or act a certain way to be loved. A teacher who makes you feel like you're not capable. Or even another girl who tears you down because she is struggling with her own insecurities.

And then there is the voice inside your own head.

She is prettier than me.

She's smarter than me.

Everyone likes her more.

I'm not as talented as she is.

I should be doing better.

I need to be more like her.

We live in a world that constantly gives us new measurements for our worth.

But here's the truth I want you to remember:

You were never created to measure your worth by someone else's standard.

You Will Never Be "Enough" for the World

The world will always find another reason to tell you that you aren't enough.

If you're quiet, you're told to speak up.

If you're outspoken, you're told you're too much.

If you don't wear makeup, you might feel like you aren't pretty enough.

If you do wear makeup, you might feel like you aren't naturally beautiful enough.

If you get good grades, you wonder why someone else got better ones.

If you struggle in school, you wonder if you're smart enough.

If you have a few close friends, you wonder why you aren't more popular.

If you have lots of friends, you wonder who your real friends are.

Even when you think you've finally reached the standard, the standard moves. There is always another girl to compare yourself to. Another achievement to chase. Another expectation to meet. Another way you think you need to improve before you can finally say:

“Now I'm enough.”

But what if the problem isn't that you haven't become enough?

What if the problem is that the world was never capable of telling you what enough looks like?

Paul Knew What It Felt Like to Be Weak

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about something he calls his “thorn in the flesh.”

We don't know exactly what Paul's thorn was. But we do know that he desperately wanted God to take it away. He prayed three times for God to remove it. And God's response wasn't, “Try harder.” It wasn't, “Fix yourself.” It wasn't, “Become stronger and then come back to Me.”

God said:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Think about that.

God's grace is sufficient.

Not your perfection.

Not your popularity.

Not your appearance.

Not your grades.

Not your accomplishments.

Not how many people like you.

Not how well you have everything together.

His grace.

Paul goes on to say:

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

That sounds backwards, doesn't it? We've been taught that being strong means having everything together. But God tells us something completely different.

You don't have to be perfect to be powerful.

You don't have to have it all figured out.

You don't have to pretend you're okay when you're not.

You don't have to hide your weaknesses from God.

You can come to Him exactly as you are.

Christ Changes the Question

Maybe the question isn't:

“Am I enough?”

Maybe the better question is:

“Who am I enough in?”

Because if you are trying to find your worth in other people, you will always be chasing something.

A boy can tell you you're beautiful today and make you feel invisible tomorrow.

A friend can tell you you're their best friend and then leave you out.

A teacher can praise you one day and criticize you the next.

A parent can be proud of you and still have expectations you can't seem to meet.

People are human.

People change.

People make mistakes.

And sometimes, people are cruel.

But Christ doesn't change.

Your worth isn't determined by whether someone chooses you.

Your worth isn't determined by whether someone understands you.

Your worth isn't determined by whether you look like the girl on your feed.

Your worth isn't determined by whether you got the part, made the team, got the grade, received the invitation, or got the text back.

Your worth is found in Jesus.

You Don't Have to Compete With Her

One of the most exhausting things girls can do is compare themselves to each other.

You see a girl who is prettier.

Someone who has more friends.

Someone who gets better grades.

Someone who seems more confident.

Someone who has the clothes you wish you had.

Someone who seems to have the perfect family.

Someone who seems like the “perfect Christian.”

And suddenly, her strengths feel like proof of your weaknesses.

But her beauty does not take away from yours.

Her intelligence does not make you less intelligent.

Her talents don't make your talents meaningless.

Her relationship with God does not make yours less valuable.

God didn't make you to be a copy of another girl.

You don't have to become her to be loved by Him.

There is room for both of you.

You can celebrate another girl's beauty without hating your own.

You can admire someone's talent without believing you have none.

You can be proud of someone else's success without treating it like your failure.

Because comparison says:

“There isn't enough room for both of us to shine.”

God says:

“I created you both.”

Even When People Are Hateful

Sometimes people will hurt you. And sometimes, they will do it intentionally.

They might gossip about you.

Make fun of you.

Exclude you.

Insult your appearance.

Judge your faith.

Make you feel stupid.

Tell you that you'll never be good enough.

And when that happens, you may start believing them.

But someone's cruelty toward you does not become truth simply because they said it loudly.

Their opinion of you is not God's opinion of you.

Their words do not get to define you.

And you don't have to become hateful because someone was hateful to you.

You can choose kindness without becoming a doormat.

You can forgive without pretending what happened was okay.

You can walk away from people who continually hurt you.

You can set boundaries.

You can ask for help.

And most importantly, you can take your hurt to Christ.

He can handle the parts of your heart that you don't know what to do with.

What If You Never Feel Like Enough?

There may be days when you know all of this and still don't feel enough.

That's okay.

Faith doesn't mean you'll never feel insecure.

It means your feelings don't get the final word.

On the days you feel ugly, Christ still calls you His.

On the days you feel stupid, Christ still sees your worth.

On the days you feel alone, Christ is still with you.

On the days you mess up, His grace is still sufficient.

On the days you feel weak, His strength is still available to you.

You don't have to wake up every morning feeling confident.

You just have to keep reminding yourself of what is true.

Your feelings are real, but they are not always reliable.

And God's truth is bigger than how you feel about yourself today.

So, Girl, Take a Breath.

You don't have to be the prettiest girl in the room.

You don't have to be the smartest.

You don't have to be the funniest.

You don't have to have hundreds of friends.

You don't have to have the perfect body.

You don't have to have the perfect family.

You don't have to have your future figured out.

You don't even have to be the perfect Christian.

You just have to be you, and let Christ meet you there.

Your weaknesses don't disqualify you.

Your mistakes don't disqualify you.

Your insecurities don't disqualify you.

Your past doesn't disqualify you.

Because your identity was never supposed to be built on how perfectly you perform.

It was supposed to be built on Christ. So the next time that little voice whispers,“You're not enough.” I want you to stop. Take a breath. And remember:

I don't have to be enough for everyone.I don't have to compete with everyone.I don't have to prove my worth.Christ is enough for me, and because I belong to Him, I am enough.

Not because you earned it. Not because you finally became perfect. But because His grace is sufficient. And when you are weak?

He is strong.