Is Jesus Enough for You?

For too many years, I lived a “take no-risks” life. I was living what most would call the “American Dream” with a nice house, a husband and two children in rural Oklahoma. Life, although not always easy, was comfortable and predictable.

Although I knew of God, I wasn’t intimately acquainted with Him. I’d attended church and Sunday school off and on throughout my lifetime. My relationship with the church was on-again/off-again, sitting in a cushion-lined pew. I volunteered to help with children’s ministries but that was the extent of my commitment.

It wasn’t until my 28-year marriage ended 15 years ago that I began searching for something—someone—to fill the void. Since that October afternoon in 2001 when I asked God for direction in my life, my journey has led me back to the body of Christ and on adventures I never dreamed of: mission trips outside this country and a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. More importantly, it led me into the arms of Jesus, the One who loves me more than life itself.

Kristin Welch, author and Pastor’s wife, also lived a comfortable life in a Houston suburb. In her book, “Rhinestone Jesus,” she writes, “…for most of my pew sitting years, I ignored something very important. I was full of faith, but I wasn’t obedient. I could quote scripture and talk about all my blessings, but I couldn’t show you my faith in action.”

In 2010, Kristin traveled with Compassion International to write about poverty in Kenya. She says, “I wasn’t expecting everything I ever knew about God to break wide open. I wasn’t expecting to see so much human suffering.”

It took an orphan boy’s answer to shake her to the core. While standing in his cardboard home, without one noticeable comfort, water dripping on her head, she says, “His smile lit up the room. I couldn’t resist asking, ‘Why are you so happy?’”

“I have Jesus. He is enough,” the young boy replied confidently.

Kristin was “shocked to see such unspeakable joy radiate from someone with nothing, not even a mom and dad or a real bed or enough food. And when I looked at what he had and what I didn’t have, I discovered Jesus wasn’t enough for me. In my culture, in my life, stuff made me happy,” she writes. “More stuff made me happier.”

She adds, “For over 35 years, I tried to fit Jesus into my life. I added Him here and there. And then I met a kid in Africa who fit his life into Jesus and he had so much more than I did.”

Kristin’s encounter that day led her to found Mercy House, a ministry for women living in poverty around the globe. Kristin says, “It’s been a journey of wild obedience and crazy-yes saying that resulted in this organization.”

And that’s what happens when you say, “Yes,” to Jesus. Is He enough for you?

To learn more about this author, visit  www.carolaround.com