Today is Thursday which is becoming my favorite day every other week thanks to my small group of 6am Bible study girls. As I mentioned previously, we are reading through the book Seven by Jen Hatmaker. It is a journey into the excess of our culture and a mission to cut down, cut out, and focus in on those places where discomfort lies and where the Holy Spirit moves.
This month the focus is on the food we eat. In that, each of us has chosen an area in which to fast and limit ourselves as an exercise in self-control and in laser focus. For me it is cutting out processed food and cutting down on the amount of food I waste. It’s an “eat clean and eat it all” fast. As I told my girls this morning, I am the queen of “if it comes individually wrapped, I eat it.”
However, what is quickly becoming overwhelmingly obvious is the heart behind both Jen’s book and our group. Yes this month the focus is on the food we eat and limiting ourselves in that area, but the bigger idea is allowing room in our culture of excess for the Holy Spirit to sustain us. Which led to a question Jen asks in the first few pages of the book that has been constantly running through my mind.
Is Jesus Enough?
In it all, in the struggle, the hunger, the giving up of excess, are we trusting that Jesus is enough? Are we willing to step out and allow Him to fill the areas of desire with His love? We chose Isaiah 58 as our scripture focus for this month and there is a verse in there that stuck out to me today for the first time. It is Isaiah 58:11-“And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”
Did you catch that? The Lord will satisfy your desires. He will be ENOUGH. In the scorched places, insert -in this world with its ever-increasing focus on “More, more, more!”- Jesus will be enough. So to my council as we are calling ourselves, remember, Jesus is enough. He will be enough through this journey, through the hard times, the good times, the times when “we get funny looks,” and the times when we sit alone with Him. For you, my reader, remember today, Jesus is enough in whatever you are going through.
