We’ve all probably heard or said the phrase, “That’s enough!” It communicates that someone’s had a sufficient amount of something. Sometimes you say it when you’re at an all you can eat buffet, and you can’t eat anymore. Or maybe if you’ve driven your mom to the brink of insanity with your behavior. The word enough signifies nothing more is required. There is a song that says, “Christ is enough for me.” The first time I sang that song, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming conviction as I thought to myself, “Is Christ enough for me? Is Christ my life?”  I know He’s not always enough for me, and as I look around, I see others are facing the same struggles I am. Why is Christ not enough for us?

Communion without Commitment

I yearn to know God. In fact, my life verse is Philippians 3:10 which starts, “That I may know him….”  I long for a constant, continual communion with Christ, and who wouldn’t? This is the God that saved us from a life of sin and an eternity of hell, but when it comes down to it, we don’t always want to commit to knowing Him.

Commitment takes work and sacrifice. It’s easier to watch television than it is to learn and study about God. Sleeping in is more convenient than waking up and going to church every Sunday. We’d rather go play basketball then tell others about Christ. Reading a murder mystery is far more compelling than reading a book by Tozer.

We want the fellowship and closeness with God, but it takes a commitment that we’re not always willing to give. The truth is we’re not willing to deny ourselves.

Luke 9:23
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

There’s a longing for God, but a lack of daily submission and denial—commitment. You can’t truly say Christ is enough if you’re not committing. By not committing, your actions show that Christ isn’t enough. We will never experience complete communion with God without full denial and submission. But once we submit and commit to God, we will not only experience fellowship with Him, but we’ll also see that He is enough.

Galatians 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Security But Not Identity

We like the eternal security that God brings, but we’re not really ready to stake our entire identity on Him. We can trust Him for an eternity in Heaven, but when it comes to finding our identity and acceptance, we’ll find that through our friends on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or we’ll find it through technology, books, sports, or a myriad of different things.

Christ didn’t come to just give you eternal security—He came to give you a new identity. We’ll never be secure until we assume that new identity in Christ.

What is this identity in Christ?

Dead to sin and alive in Christ

Romans 6:6–11
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Living a life of sin or in the flesh will always bring doubts and insecurity. But a life dead to sin and alive in Christ will bring security and confidence.

An adopted child of the King

We live in a society where it’s easy to feel neglected and unwanted, but Christ adopted us! He didn’t bring us to His palace merely to be fed and have home—no, He saved us to make us His family! Think about that. He didn’t save us to give us security. He saved us to make us His children, to give us a new identity.

1 Peter 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Look at those adjectives: chosen, royal, holy, and peculiar. Those aren’t adjectives we’d probably use to describe ourselves, but once we receive our identity as a child of the King, these adjectives describe us perfectly.

Until we find our identity in Christ, He will never truly be enough. He will merely just be a security blanket from keeping us from going to hell. But if we accept our new identity in Him, we can live with a new-found security and confidence.

Power without prayer

We want the results of prayer without the turmoil of prayer. We’ve heard the amazing stories of Christians like George Müller and his prayer life and how God intervened greatly by provided for the hundreds of orphans under Müller’s care. We yearn to see God do incredible miracles like that in our lives, but we’re not asking for them or we’re doing so without the sacrifice. We want God to intervene in our lives, but prayer is often the last resort.

Today’s society is busy. It seems that we have a dozen things grabbing for our attention at any given minute, and prayer becomes an afterthought. Martin Luther once said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Until we make prayer our first priority, we will never see God’s power in our lives. Sure we’ll hear about God’s power from others, but until we learn to pray, we’ll never experience them first hand in our lives.

A story found in Matthew 17 exemplifies this. A man comes to Jesus begging him to heal his son. He explains how Jesus’ disciples weren’t able to heal the boy. Jesus heals the boy, and the disciples ask Christ why they weren’t able to do the same thing:

Matthew 17:14–21
And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Christ’s answer is still applicable today. We might ask, “God, why haven’t I been able to lead someone to the Lord?” or “God, why aren’t you using me in the way I want to be used for You?” And He simply replies, “This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”

Prayer isn’t a quick fix—it is a lifestyle. The disciples couldn’t just quickly pray and fast and then cast out the devil, they had to be living a lifestyle of prayer and fasting. It wasn’t random and sporadic—but rather continual and determined. If we want the power of prayer, we have to live this lifestyle of prayer. If we truly want Christ to be enough in our lives, we must learn this lifestyle of prayer.

Is Christ enough? Does He consume your every thought? Or is He merely a convince or a security blanket? Is He everything to you or a quick fix when life gets rough? For Christ to be enough in our lives we must commit to continual communion, embrace our new identity in Him, and live a lifestyle of prayer.