God Is Not Enough

September 13, 2012 by 36 Comments

I saw the following picture show up in my Facebook feed recently:

 

I want this to be true, because it sounds very spiritual and lovely and zen, but the truth is, I just don’t believe it.

Monday was a rough day. I received some distressing news in the morning and it completely wiped me out. I prayed about it for a while, because that’s what I’m supposed to do and because I believe that God wants to hear about my life, but the prayer alone wasn’t cutting it. The burden still felt very heavy; my heart weighed down by sorrow.

So I did what I do and I posted a quick update on Twitter and Facebook asking for people to pray. I didn’t say what it was about or give any direction, I just said that it was a rough day and I needed some prayer.

And my friends responded.

Messages, texts, phone calls. Responses from people who know me personally and who have put their arms around me in a real embrace. And responses from people who know me only through my words online and who have only ever been able to hug me through brackets on a screen. Regardless of the origins of our relationship, people in my life responded with prayers and encouragement.

When I felt alone, they surrounded me. When things seemed dark, they offered a light. When I was hurting, they offered a balm.

I needed them.

I’m tired of this guilt that we pour on one another and ourselves when we say that we don’t need anything or anyone other than God. I believe it is one of the most toxic lies that we tell.

And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12, ESV

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Genesis 2:18, ESV

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2, NIV

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:12-14, NIV

We have confused the command to have no other gods with the idea that we’re supposed to rely solely on God. We have conflated the idea that we should give our burdens to Jesus with our reluctance to burden others. We have taken the American idea of self-reliance and falsely applied it to God.

This is not right.

We have always been made for one another. We need more than “just God.”

The people who are supported by the work of Nuru and World Vision need more.

The person who is contemplating suicide needs more.

The person who is battling addiction needs more.

The family that is facing eviction needs more.

We all need more.

I don’t think God is enough. But I don’t think that it was ever supposed to be that way.

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What do you think? Am I reading too much into what is supposed to be just a nice little inspirational picture? Is God really enough for you?

Filed Under: faith, friends, love
  • http://twitter.com/chicagomama Brenna D

    Oh, Alise! I get this. I get so frustrated with quick phrases thrown out by fellow Christians as a way to absolve themselves/ourselves of further action. Is God all someone needs? Yes. BUT. We are to be God’s hands and feet. So that family facing eviction, do they just need God? Yes, but they need us to support them whether financially, or through giving them a place to stay, or making life feel “normal” for the kids. Is God all the person thinking about suicide needs? Yes, but they need us to be there when no one else is, to open our lives and to be an earthly representation of God.

    Is God all someone needs? Yes, but. You can’t throw that around if you aren’t ready to live out your part of the equation. Good word this morning!

    • http://www.alise-write.com Alise Wright

      Thanks, Breanna. We absolutely MUST be the hands and feet of God. He’s enough, but only if we’re involved.

  • http://sarahaskins.com Sarah Askins

    Sometimes, I think the “God is enough” mentality is just lazy faith in action. We need to do more than simply “go be in peace, God provides” etc. I have heard it all. Right now, I feel very alone and tired of the praying for you in Christian cliches.

    • http://www.alise-write.com Alise Wright

      Lazy faith indeed. We don’t need to DO ANYTHING if God is all someone needs. But that’s not how it works. And I deeply believe that it’s not how it was ever supposed to work either. I’m sorry that you’re feeling alone right now. Wish there was something tangible that I could do for you.

      • http://sarahaskins.com Sarah Askins

        Sometimes, the best thing is knowing there is nothing(although, your podcast does wonders for me…take that however you want). 2013, we will hug for real.

  • Sarah Moon

    THIS!!!

  • http://profiles.google.com/andilit Andrea Cumbo

    I could not agree with you more, Alise.

    On my desk there is a saying that my mom wrote out – “You’ll never know God is all you need until He’s all you’ve got.” At dark moments of my life – after Mom died on the same day my relationship with the man I loved ended, for example – it is impossible to not feel alone, isolated scared, and in those moments, I felt such an upswelling awareness of God’s presence. In those moments, it was enough, for a moment.

    BUT it would not have been for the lifetime of these moments. As you say, we need each other, to hug, and to cry and to laugh (oh my, to laugh). I’m a huge critic of the idea of rugged individualism for this (and other reasons). We don’t do this life alone and come out healthy. We need each other.

    • http://www.alise-write.com Alise Wright

      I know that some will say that it’s not about individualism because you’re relying on God, but I think that individualistic ideology HEAVILY informs that kind of thought.

      I don’t mean to diminish the moments of God’s presence finding us. I definitely have experienced that myself. But yes, I have sincere doubts as to whether they could ever be enough. And I certainly don’t think it’s a biblical idea.

  • Holly

    I kind of want to change the quote above to something more akin to….”If God is All you have, let’s hope He has some friends…” Because, like you’ve so eloquently captured above, it is that presence of God that we need. And when I say “presence” I get this visual of God moving around with this great big entourage and, all of us, we should be all caught up in that blob. So that when the mortgage can’t be paid or the spouse abandons or when stomachs are empty…the needs are met by God AND his entourage.

    • http://www.alise-write.com Alise Wright

      Ha! I hope we all get a bunch of gold chains to wear in that entourage. ;-D

      But yes, if my faith doesn’t inspire action, it’s not a very potent faith.

  • Jessica

    Nothing but an amen this morning.

  • http://www.travismamone.net/ Travis Mamone

    I know what you mean. In fact, I think God works THROUGH other people 90% of the time.

    • http://www.alise-write.com Alise Wright

      90% minimum, I think.

  • Harriet Congdon

    A statement beautifully challenged! The problem I have with quotes like these is that they are similar to sound bites – you can misinterpret them without the context. For this quote the words sound good on the surface but when you go deeper you end up in a pit. The only way to embrace the quote is to take a bird’s eye view of life and put it in context.

    There was a time in my life when I needed to understand utter dependence on Christ and Christ alone. Until then I had been grasping at other people in very unhealthy ways which, when they failed to “save” me, became my excuse for not turning to Christ. I ended up in a maze of confusion and like Harry Potter’s maze, eventually the branches swallowed up people in my life until I was forced to face God alone. But guess what? What did He use to help me turn the corner into freedom and restoration? A person. And when I came out of the maze I found a bunch of other people attached to the God I embraced.

    I think what’s sad about the quote is that it acknowledges the failure of people to be the hands and feet of Christ. Somehow I have to navigate between two truths: 1) just because people fail you does not mean God has failed you and 2) Christ IS the Head of the Body so if I want to embrace Christ, I MUST embrace the Body. I need BOTH.

    • http://www.alise-write.com Alise Wright

      Exactly – so often, even when I think of my dependence on God, it still involves other people. Most of the lessons that I’ve learned have come, at least in some way, through other people.

  • http://charityjilldenmark.wordpress.com/ Charity Jill Denmark

    Catchphrases like this are what happen when we don’t embrace the complexity and nuance of scripture – “His grace is enough (to provide you with salvation from sins)” gets simplified down to “He is all you need.” I think we do this a lot though – manipulate scripture into useful mantras.

    • http://www.alise-write.com Alise Wright

      Yup. Of course, they’re not that useful when we pile guilt on folks who aren’t able to live up to the prescriptions. Then they just become another burden – and in this case, one that we can’t even share with other people because “God is all we need.” Blech.

  • Diana Trautwein

    Oh, Amen. This is well done, Alise – and I’m sorry I somehow missed that cry for prayer. Monday was a ‘mom’ day for me and I miss a lot on those days. (Too much driving, too much sighing). You have nailed it – and though I think the picture is lovely, the romantic verbiage is not helpful, nor is it even true. And it’s not true because God designed it not to be true in exactly the way you have outlined it here. We are meant to be as Jesus to each other – that whole early idea about ‘Christ lights’ – yeah. That’s the truth. Thank you for being one for me so many time.

    • http://www.alise-write.com Alise Wright

      First, it’s okay – I totally missed that a friend of mine was in the midst of a divorce for like a week and she’s been posting about it WAY more often than I did. We have to live our lives and that’s okay.

      I’m so thankful to know you, Diana. You are one of many who show God’s love consistently through your words and actions.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Michael-J-Teston/611354012 Michael J. Teston

    Absolutely. From the opening pages of scripture, a person has the garden, the critters, everything including a “personal” relationship with God, and that person is miserable and God takes notice. And grace is distributed as “Word becomes flesh” or incarnate. God’s realness is real as it is manifested in flesh and blood and that remains true. It gets tiring hearing the chatter of cliche and then as the image reveals, its just that, a mirage. Great blog

    • http://www.alise-write.com Alise Wright

      Thank you. The “not good for man to be alone” thing has always mesmerized me because GOD WAS THERE. If we’re to read it literally, he was physically there with Adam. And yet even then, he called Adam “alone” until he created another person. That we somehow think this doesn’t apply to us now is just baffling to me.

  • Valerie

    Alise I’m so sorry for your recent difficulty. I am praying for you today.
    I would say that God indeed is enough, insomuch as He has set things up to work through His Body, the Church.I love all the scripture references you shared above. My background is in the charismatic/pentecostal/prosperity gospel tradition and this teaching of “all you need is God” was very prevalent . The fruits of which being we were encouraged not to let on too much if you had any need or struggle, because, oh that would mean you weren’t trusting God enough. Ugh. It took me finally coming across books like Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend years ago and their other wonderful ministry resources to see for the first time that the Lord works through us to be there and care for each other and to see that we’re not meant to just be out there on our own. We were created for community. Sounds cliche’ I know, but there’s truth to it. :-)
    Great post!

    • http://www.alise-write.com Alise Wright

      Thank you for your prayers, I so appreciate them.

      And yes, that tradition can definitely leave you feeling guilty when you need something more tangible. I’ve been there myself and it’s not a good feeling.

  • http://twitter.com/christineorgan Christine Organ

    I could not agree with you more. Thank you for bravely writing this. God is the essence of our personal relationships so the only way to know God is to know (and support and love) each other and to let others know (and support and love) us in return. Lovely post.

    • http://www.alise-write.com Alise Wright

      Exactly. When we really know one another, we get such a better picture of God. Why would we want to block that out?

  • http://teamaidan.wordpress.com/ Heather Bowie

    Holy cow this is my story this week. Unloaded myself on others and felt completely loved with the “you are not alone” message. When someone gave met he “isn’t it good to know God loves you” I responded with “that’s true and it’s also true we have to walk this ugly road.” Two truths that live side by side. So sending cyber hugs your way.

  • http://twitter.com/kimsullivan6 kim sullivan

    Dead on, Alise!

  • beverlyakabuddy

    I agree with your feelings. Jesus went about telling people how to love and care for each other as he knew his time on earth was short and he wouldn’t be around to do it all for them. One of the ways God helps us is through others. I am thinking of the man sitting on his house during a flood. He had passed up the ride out with his neighbors before the waters got so high saying, “I’m staying put; God will save me.” As he sat on the roof of his house, a rescue boat came by to pick up the stranded, and he turned down their help saying, “I’m staying here; God will save me.” Finally, a helicopter came by; his last chance, and he again said he’d just stay there and wait for God to save him. He drowned and when he stood before his maker, he asked God, “Why didn’t you save me when I showed such faith?” God answered with so much wisdom, “I sent you a car, a boat and a helicopter. What more did you want?” People, be it friends, advisors, doctors, etc., are how God usually helps us!!!

  • http://deuceology.wordpress.com Larry Carter

    I think it is true, but not the way it sounds. He rarely shows up in some tangible way where we just see Him. He works theough you friends or the Church or World Vision or the new Avett Brothers song.

  • Bob Slatt

    This post reminds me of a story…

    There was a massive flood in a small town and a man was stuck on top of his house. A neighbor in a boat came by and said, “hop in!”

    The man said, “No. The Lord will save me.” So the neighbor went on.

    The water started to rise and another neighbor came by in a boat and said, “Hop in or you will drown.”

    Again the man said no the Lord will save me.

    The water continued to rise and this time the a National Guardsman came by and demanded he get into the boat.

    The man persisted that God would save him.

    The man drowned.

    The man stood before God disappointed. The man asked God, “Why didn’t you save me? Why did you let me drown?”

    God’s response was, “Did you not notice the three boats I sent to pick you up?”

  • http://www.facebook.com/joel.funk.37 Joel Funk

    This quote is true. When all is stripped away and only you and God are left, He will be all you need. I have seen it and I have read of it in the lives of others. And I have reached a point like this in my own life before. Reaching that point usually all but kills us. Thankfully mine was well short of that. God gives us more than we could ask or need. He gives us others to minister to us and gives us the responsibility to minister to others. Often his answer to prayer comes through others. Often another’s care is all we need in our current situation. You are correct in that we cannot completely separate ourselves from everyone and everything else to “make” God all we have. We in our sinful fallen state cannot do that and God does not want us to do that. Only through trials God gives us will we even approach that point. If you do ever reach the point where God is all you have, He will be all you need.

  • http://twitter.com/kt_writes Kristin T.

    Yes! Absolutely. God created us to exist in community and to serve him by serving one another. Posters and sentiments like that are not only annoying, I think they drive many people away from a type of faith that doesn’t seem realistic or possible.

  • Miles_ONeal

    God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone (note that God said this *even though, technically, Adam was not alone– Adam had God there!*), so he gave Adam and Eve the gift of each other, then gave them more family and friends and community, growing over time. I would contend that if you have God, you have family and friends and community. That’s what I see in the Bible, and what I see all around me. Those who try to live without family and community have serious problems.

    If, indeed, God alone is all you have then he will be and provide all you need. But how many of us end up like Jonah or John in the book of Revelation? Precious few, thankfully.

    I suspect the provider of the quote above was trying to encourage people (or themselves) in the latter situation, but honestly, if we have a computer and internet access, we probably have no clue what it is like to have nothing but God.
    I’ve known people who went through times they had no one but God, and he became enough, but he brought them to a place that was no longer true. Because we were never meant to be alone.

    In short, I agree with you 100%.

    Virtual hugs from a brother who has yet to meet you in person.

  • http://www.leahcolbeck.com/ Leah Colbeck

    Yes I agree. I think that is part of the mystery between God and us. That God doesn’t want to work in isolation – he wants to work with humans.

  • http://steadilyskippingstones.com/ skippingstones

    I agree. Even God is a trinity, so technically three entities we have available to rely on. But we need the physical touch, the sound of voices, messages we can see, the warmth of embraces – the tangible, really.

    And maybe you can say that God sends those to us in our need. So, if you look at it that way, it can kind of go back to “God is all we need.” It’s like a circle, isn’t it? Or a big box – the box is all I need, but it opens up and WOW – what amazing things are in there. Interesting thing to think about (not sure how I got from “I agree” to God is a box).

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