2 Corinthians 12:9
In 2017, I had the privilege of leading a team of women on a mission trip in Spain to provide soul care for around 40 missionary women who were serving in Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. It was an amazing opportunity!
While there, we each met with women who were struggling, grieving, questioning, and longing. They were convinced of their calling to serve Jesus, but life was hard and often didn’t make sense, which led many of these women to ponder their relationship with God.
One woman had struggled with her identity, knowing in her head that she was a beloved daughter of God, but feeling in her heart that she was simply “too much.” This sense of self had led her to some destructive behaviors.
One day, as we walked along the shores near Malaga, she poured her heart out. She could know and appreciate God as her Father. She saw Him as a disciplinarian and also as a loving Father who wanted what was best for her. But she could not see him as her Abba, her Daddy. He simply did not have enough space for her in his lap. She was too much.
Then there was Jesus… He was a friend to many, but not to her. She saw herself as needy, desperate, damaged, and basically annoying. There was no way that Jesus could find space for her.
As we walked, we talked about God’s character, specifically His love. We talked about what her head knew to be true versus what her heart would not embrace. Over and over again, she said, “I’m just too much.”
After a few minutes of silence, God brought to mind 2 Corinthians 12:9: “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
At these words, she stopped abruptly and said, “If Jesus is enough for me, then maybe I can’t be too much for Him. He sounds like the perfect friend.” Slowly, a big smile came over her face, then she sat down on the sand and began to cry, not out of sadness, but from a place of relief.
For the first time, she was able to say with confidence, “I’m not too much, and I am enough, because Jesus is my Friend.”
Can you say with confidence today that Jesus is your friend?
Lynette Fuson
Care & Counseling Director