Is Jesus Enough?

     “I know this probably sounds crazy to you,” Jerry said, “but I had a dream that I was found not guilty at my trial. Could this be the Lord showing me something? Does He operate like that?”

     “He can,” I responded. 

     “Here’s my problem,” Jerry continued. “The truth is, I’m not guilty for what I’m being accused of in this upcoming trial, but they say the deck is stacked against me because of other things I have done in the past, and so I should take a plea deal. Even though I’m not guilty, I’m afraid if I go to court and lose, then I will get a lot more time in prison than if I take the deal. So I’m thinking this dream is God’s way of telling me to go through with the trial and see what happens.”

     I could tell by the look on his face that Jerry was hoping I’d tell him what to do one way or the other, but I put it back on him. 

     “This is something you and the Lord will just have to work out. There is no easy answer, but we will definitely pray for you to get clarity.”

     We prayed for Jerry, he thanked us, and nothing more was said about it.

     About a month later, Jerry shared with us the outcome. “The more I thought about my situation, the less confident I became. They started with a plea deal of twelve years. That one was easy to turn down. Then they offered ten years. I turned that one down too. Finally, they offered me four. I didn’t want to give in, but four years didn’t seem so bad. I knew I could do four years if I had to. On the other hand, if I lost the trial, they could give me over twenty. A big part of me thought it was better to just take the four and be safe. I even had the pen in hand and was ready to sign when that dream came to mind again. In that moment, everything became clear. I laid the pen down and said, “If I lose, I lose. God will take care of me either way. 

     “Well, I went to trial. I had to admit it didn’t look good. The prosecution had over ten witnesses against me. The good news is that they all had some contradictions in their stories. Then my attorney called the only witness on my side to the stand: me. I maintained my innocence in front of the jury, then they were dismissed to deliberate and make their decision. I thought it might take them a while, but they returned in less than an hour.” 

     “And what was their verdict?” I asked. 

     “Not guilty. Just like in my dream.”   

     This was obviously great news for Jerry, but he’d still been in jail for months on end waiting for and going through a trial whose outcome had been far from certain, which could have shaken any new Christian’s faith. But every time I met with him, he became more and more stable in the Lord, even as his circumstances remained decidedly not. So I asked him about it.  

        “Jerry, you’ve been in here for several months for a crime you didn’t commit, and you seemed prepared the whole way for whatever the outcome might have been. Where did you see the Lord in all of this?”

     Without hesitation, Jerry responded, “Everywhere. I’m ten times the man I was when I came in here. I knew a little about God, but I didn’t really know Him. He used this time to clean me up. I’m a changed man. I’ve completely surrendered my life to Him. I knew that even if I lost the trial, He was going to get me through whatever I needed to go through. I’ve been talking to my family on the phone about God. They are actually excited for me to get out. They have already started going to church, and we are all serious about following Him.”

     As I thought about Jerry’s story, the question that came to my mind was, “Is Jesus enough?” This is a question we should all ask ourselves whenever we are going through a difficult time in life. Whether it is sickness, or financial ruin, or the loss of a loved one, or a false accusation, we need to be able to take these issues to the Lord and say, As long as I have you, Lord, it’s okay. You are enough. I don’t know if you have had a situation in your life where you’ve had to come face to face with circumstances that were beyond your control. If you have not, trust me, you will. And my encouragement is when it happens that you make the decision to dig in deeper with God. Decide that no matter what, you are going to trust Him. 

     Here is the catch: You might not get what you want. If you are sick, you might not get healed. If you’re in financial trouble, you might not be able to avoid ruin. If you are in mourning, you might not fully get over the grief of your loss, and if you’re in a situation like Jerry, you might suffer even more injustice. Life is not fair. This is why it is important to live for God and what He has promised for you eternally.

Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT)
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.  

Did Jesus do enough, and is He enough for what we must endure in this life? 
•    Was His suffering enough?
•    Was His crucifixion enough? 
•    Was His resurrection enough? 
•    Is His friendship enough? 
•    Is His promise of eternal life enough? 
•    Is His love enough?

Romans 8:28 (NLT)
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.