Is the Lord Enough

A question for dark days.

He was a dying man. He had been strong and vigorous, a hard worker, always providing for his family. He had come to know the Lord while he was young, had grown in the Lord, had married, and had raised a family. Because of his faithfulness, he had eventually been recognized as an elder and had served the assembly faithfully. Life was good.

But then cancer struck him in the prime of life. None of the treatments helped, and now he was nearing the end of his life. His wife was caring for him lovingly as he lay on a hospital bed in the living room of their modest frame home in northern Minnesota. When I went to see him, he was a broken, depressed man. I had known him for years as an esteemed brother, beloved by many. He said, “Don, I’m losing everything. I have lost my health, and I have lost my job. I am losing my family. I am losing everything. All I have left is the Lord.”

I looked at him with tears and asked, “Is the Lord enough?” He did not answer for a moment and then said, “Don, now you have backed me into a corner.” He died shortly thereafter and I know that, as he entered the dark waters of death, he found the Lord to be enough.

Life is not always easy. Old age and dying can be extremely difficult. An elderly woman of 115 said before she died, “Dying is very hard. I hope I do it well!”

Paul was a prisoner in chains in Rome, awaiting trial, when he wrote to believers in Philippi. He confidently affirmed, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Php. 4:13). Paul could testify, “Yes, the Lord is enough.”

How about you? Are you facing the loss of a job and the prospect of being unemployed with family obligations? Perhaps you have stood by the graveside of a family member or close friend, and the tears have flowed as you keenly felt their loss. Or maybe you have been diagnosed with cancer or some other fatal disease.

At those times of crisis, is the Lord enough? Is it enough to know that you are forgiven and are a child of God? Is it enough to know that the God of the universe is your Father and is committed to caring for you? Is it enough to know that, on the far side of the river of death, there is joy and comfort and a God who will wipe away all tears? Is the Lord enough? Faith responds, “Yes, Lord, You are enough.”