Is the Lord Enough?

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. He grew in the Lord, married and had a family. Because of his faithfulness he was recognized as an elder in time and 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 am 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 said, ‘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 am sure that as he entered the dark waters of death that he found the Lord is enough.

Life is not always easy. Old age and dying can be very hard. An old 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’, Phil. 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. The tears have flowed as you felt keenly their loss. Or perhaps 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 comfort and joy and a God who will wipe away all tears? Is the Lord enough? Faith responds, ‘Yes, Lord, You are enough’.