EP 194: Jesus Is Enough: Resting in Christ’s Sufficiency
Inside: Jesus is enough for salvation and every part of daily life. His grace is sufficient for whatever the Lord has placed before us today.
This post is adapted from chapter 10, “Resting in Christ’s Sufficiency,” in my book, Homemaking Matters: Living for God’s Glory in the Ordinary. It also accompanies episode 194 of the Thankful Homemaker Podcast.
I’m always grateful for practical ideas that help me care for my home. Meal planning, cleaning, keeping up with the laundry—these are things we deal with every day, and a simple routine that works can be a real help.
And if someone ever comes up with a laundry system that folds everything and puts it away too, please let me know. I’ll be the first to sign up.
But as useful as these things may be, they cannot do the work that only the Lord can do in us. A good routine may help our day run more smoothly, but it can’t change our hearts. It can’t give us patience when we’re worn thin or teach us to trust the Lord in a difficult circumstance.
For that, we need Christ.
Chapter 10 of Homemaking Matters brings us back to the truth I pray runs throughout the entire book. It’s also the reminder I end every podcast episode with: Jesus is enough.
Listen to the Podcast ( minutes) or read the post below (9 minutes):
Why Practical Homemaking Help Is Not Enough
We aren’t lacking anything we truly need for a faithful, godly life. Peter reminds us in 2 Peter 1:3 that God’s divine power “has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.”
That doesn’t mean we will always feel strong or know exactly what to do. It means the Lord will not fail to give us the grace we need to obey Him in whatever He has placed before us today. We are not left to walk through any part of our lives in our own strength.
Christ is not only sufficient to save us. He is sufficient for all of life.
Maybe your toddler has been crying all morning, and you can feel your patience wearing thin. Or maybe you’re carrying a trial that has made even the usual responsibilities of the day feel heavy.
Whatever the Lord has placed before you today, you can depend upon Him.
He doesn’t always take away what is hard. Often, He gives us the grace to keep trusting and obeying Him right in the middle of it. As we pray and spend time in His Word, He reminds us of who He is and what is true.
Depending on Christ doesn’t mean we never need practical help or the care of other believers. The Lord often uses those very gifts to care for us. We receive them from His hand, knowing that none of them can do what only He can do.
He is faithful to give us what we need for today.
Jesus Is Enough for Our Salvation
The answer to the question “Is Jesus really enough?” is yes. But we need to slow down sometimes and remind our hearts why that is true.
Hebrews 10:14 tells us that “by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” By His once-for-all sacrifice, Jesus has fully secured our acceptance before God. Our standing before Him does not rise and fall with how well we’re doing today. It rests entirely on the finished work of Christ, even as God continues His sanctifying work in us.
Spending time in God’s Word matters, and we should long to see its truth shape the way we live. But neither our faithfulness in reading Scripture nor our growth in godliness is what makes us right with God. Jesus alone saves.
I know this is true, but I don’t always live as though it is. When I haven’t spent much time in God’s Word, or when the Lord has convicted me of sin, I can find myself pulling back from Him or hesitating to pray. I can almost feel as though I need to get myself together before I come to Him.
But that is exactly when I need to come—confessing my sin, opening His Word, and reminding myself of what is true. The gospel reminds me that I could never make myself right with God in the first place.
We were dead in our sin and unable to save ourselves. But God, in His mercy, sent His Son. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live, died in our place, and rose again so that we could be forgiven, made new, and brought near to God.
When we repent and trust in Christ alone, we are saved—not because of anything we have done, but because of everything He has done.
One little book that has been especially helpful to me in remembering these truths is A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent. It has helped me understand the importance of preaching the gospel to my own heart—not only looking back to the day the Lord saved me, but reminding myself each day of what Christ has done on my behalf.
God’s Grace Is Sufficient In Our Weakness
Christ is sufficient for our salvation, and His grace is sufficient for our daily lives.
One of my favorite reminders comes from 2 Corinthians 12:9, where the Lord tells Paul:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
These are words I need to hear often. I would much rather feel capable and in control than weak and needy, and I imagine I’m not alone in that. But our weakness reminds us how much we need the Lord and allows us to see more clearly that the strength is His, not ours.
We don’t have to pull ourselves together before we come to Him. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to draw near to the throne of grace, where we will receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. We can come honestly, trusting the Lord to meet us with mercy and give us the help we need.
When Paul pleaded for his thorn to be removed, the Lord did not take it away. Instead, He reminded Paul that His grace was enough and gave him the strength he needed to endure.
Sometimes the Lord changes our circumstances, but often He does His work in us while the circumstances remain. He may not remove the trial, but He teaches us to depend upon Him in the midst of it.
First Thessalonians 5:18 calls us to “give thanks in all circumstances.” That doesn’t mean the trial itself is good or that we pretend it isn’t painful. It means we can give thanks in the midst of it because God is good, He has not left us, and He is at work even there, using the trial to make us more like Christ.
What Depending on Christ Looks Like in Everyday Life
The Lord’s strength meets us in very practical places.
For a tired mom with young children, it may be the grace to respond calmly when she normally would have snapped. For a wife carrying unmet expectations, it may be the wisdom to stop and pray before speaking out of frustration. When our list is long and our energy is short, the Lord may help us see what truly needs our attention and give us peace about leaving the rest for another day.
Sometimes He gives us strength to continue with the work before us. Other times, He helps us see that something needs to be set aside.
I can see this in my own homemaking. I’ve had days when I was so focused on finishing my list or getting the house the way I wanted it that I became impatient with the very people I was supposed to be loving.
There was nothing wrong with wanting to finish the work. But my response when things didn’t go according to plan revealed how tightly I was holding on to my own way. I may have been asking the Lord to help me get everything done, when what I really needed was for Him to change my heart and help me respond with grace.
Sometimes His grace doesn’t look like helping me get everything done. It looks like the Lord showing me the sin in my heart and giving me grace to repent. He is teaching me to want what pleases Him more than I want my plans to work out.
Philippians 2:13 reminds us that “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Even our growing desire to please Him is evidence of His grace at work in us.
I’ve had mornings when I looked at the day ahead and wanted to crawl back into bed. Sometimes there were so many things on my list that I felt overwhelmed before I had even started. Other days, it was one or two hard things I knew I had to face. Those moments remind me how quickly I come to the end of my own strength and how much I need the Lord.
In those moments, we can stop and pray:
“Lord, I am weak, but You are strong. Help me trust You right here.”
Sometimes one verse taped to the refrigerator, written on a notecard, or prayed through while we prepare dinner can bring our hearts back to what is true:
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
We Need Jesus on the Good Days Too
Jesus never changes. Hebrews 13:8 reminds us that He is “the same yesterday and today and forever.” He is faithful and good, and His grace never runs out. We can depend on Him today just as surely as we did yesterday.
We don’t just need a little help from Jesus. We need Him completely.
And our need for Him isn’t limited to the hard days. We need Him when the house is peaceful, when our routines seem to be running just as planned, and when we feel on top of things. Those may be the very moments when we’re most tempted to rely upon ourselves. Jesus reminds us in John 15:5, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”
We need Him when our thoughts are anxious and our patience is wearing thin. We need Him in circumstances that are hard. But we need Him when life is going well too. His grace teaches us to receive His good gifts with thanksgiving instead of taking them for granted. It guards us from relying upon ourselves and helps us remain faithful in the work He has given us. There is no part of our day where He isn’t essential.
When we say “Jesus is enough,” we aren’t saying life will be easy or that we will always feel strong. We’re saying that whatever the Lord allows in our lives, Christ will be with us, and His grace will be sufficient to help us walk faithfully through it.
Jesus truly is enough—always.
About Homemaking Matters
This post and podcast episode were adapted from chapter 10 of my book, Homemaking Matters: Living for God’s Glory in the Ordinary.
The book is now available, and my prayer is that it will point women to Christ and remind us how much we need Him in every part of our lives. You can learn more at HomemakingMatters.com or visit me here at ThankfulHomemaker.com.
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