Four Simple Steps to Help You Move Toward Enough

Moving toward ENOUGH isn’t as hard as you think or as painful as it may sound. It’s really pretty simple and will greatly reduce your stress and increase your joy and peace. Are you ready to join the Enough Revolution? Here are four steps to get started:

Take a look around. Pause a minute to take in all that you have. Look at where you live—home, your furniture, your cars, your appliances, your clothes and your electronics. Now, think about your bank accounts—savings, 401k, checking, stocks and bonds, etc. As best you can, take a mental survey of everything you have, whether it’s a lot or a little. Got it? Now, go to step 2.
Say this out loud, “I have enough.” That’s right—you have enough—today, right now, regardless of your circumstances, you have enough. Say it again, “I have enough.” The truth is, you probably have more than enough. There may be things you want–things you’d like to have–but most of us really don’t need much else. And that’s true whether you’re rich or poor, whether you have a ton of savings or none. It’s true today whether you are employed or unemployed, retired or just starting out in your first job. It’s true whether you’re paid hourly, by the job, or salaried. I know that you may not feel like you have enough, and I fully understand what that’s like. When Susie and I look at trying to pay off one set of student loans, with another kid about to graduate from college another just about to start, I don’t have a clue how we’re going to do it. But that doesn’t change our reality. We have enough. And so do you. Want to say it again? “I have enough.” Okay, now go to step 3.


Look unto the hills.  This step is about reminding ourselves of the source of our hope and provision. David wrote, “I lift up my eyes to the hills– where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,” (Psalm 121:1-2). We tend to panic when we don’t know how we’re going to pay tomorrow’s bills or put food on the table. We worry about retirement and our kid’s future. But the Bible reminds us that our hope has never been in what we can produce—in our jobs, our bank accounts, our retirement funds, Wall Street or the government. Our hope, future and promise are all in God. That’s how you know you have enough; because whatever God has, you have. You may not see it today, but it will be there when you need it. So, in the words of Paul, let’s set our hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and on things above, not on earthly things, (see Colossians 3:1-2). Now, let’s go to step 4.
Find a need and meet it. One of the best ways to recognize your own enough is to see the less than enough of someone else. I am much less likely to want those new jeans or to think I “need” that new wrench set if I’m aware of the hand-to-mouth existence of my neighbor just down the street. It’s amazing how much perspective can be gained by just taking our eyes off ourselves and looking at the plight of others. If you’ll get in the habit of seeing your stuff, money, home, resources, etc., as the possible solution to someone else’s problems or the answer to someone else’s prayers, then you’ll be well on your way to embracing and even celebrating your enough.