Are We Good Enough? Is That a Good Question?

I have often noted that Jesus said we are to be children all our lives. He, further, emphasizes that we need to be like little children. The result is that the gap between what we are today and what the Bible says can be daunting. We also have gaps in terms of meeting people’s needs around us. Are we good enough?

It can all be too much for us, and we give up or shrink inside ourselves. How does God view this, and how does He provide?

He does not sit up in heaven and hold our sins and gaps over us. He knows us perfectly. If we had to try to earn his love in fear, then we would be a mess. Amazingly, he offered to die for us to give us safety as well as to save us. We love Him for accepting us just as we are.

Should a small child feel bad because he cannot do calculus? Can we see that is why God accepts us as we are? I often feel not good enough, and need to be reminded of God in various ways. I guess many of us do. However, God said we are children.

From there, we seek to become like him in holiness in a lifelong process. We love the culture of his Kingdom. We simply keep growing up. God is with us and understanding us in this process which he designed.

Are We Good Enough? It Feels We Are Not Good Enough

However, people around us, and we ourselves, have needs of different types. We sense that we cannot get all we need nor provide what others need. Fabulously rich people commit suicide, get divorced and have other problems. The problem is not about money.

We, ourselves, can feel we are not good enough to meet other and our own needs. That is not a good feeling. Yet, God’s plan is for us to not have to feel guilty. He wants to set us free.

My wife and are are naturally quite judgmental. So, we are trying to encourage each other and the kids.  We try to occasionally name three things we did that we want to be praised for. Then, my wife, for example, would praise me for that. She would then name 3 things for me to notice and I praise her.

What we need is to find ways to overcome the bad voices that are making us feel not good enough. That does not mean we cannot correct each other, but we need both.

Philippians 4:8 says we need to think better.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

We need enough hope to be better. Feeling not good enough does not help. Let’s enter into a process with God and seek to overcome feelings of being not good enough while we grow. We need to ask for and give encouragement along the way. God made the process and is with us. We can live in hope of growing all our lives.