Title: “Enough is Enough!”
Contents
It's enough to stop!
Deuteronomy 3:23-29
2009.12.27
“Oh, by the grace of God”
There was a person who received favorable reviews from people saying, “If you talk to that person, you can see the way.”
He always had a positive mindset and lived a constructive life. He was, of course, a huge success, and he shared it with his neighbors. Whenever people around him asked the secret to success, his answer was the same. “Other people end the day at sunset, but I start the day at sunset.” “What does that mean?” “It was living in the spirit of starting the day dark and ending it brightly rather than starting the day bright and ending it dark.”
I can see why Jews start their day with sunset rather than sunrise. At the end of the year, I thought of Moses, who was nearing the end of his life, that is, death. His life started dark and ended brightly. Of course, there were many shortcomings and dissatisfactions in his life. But God said to Moses, “Enough is enough! (That's enough! Deuteronomy 3:26) He said. It was that God's grace was abundant with him. That's right. God is abundant in all grace. Therefore, I believe that, through God's abundant grace, we too will be able to end this year and our lives brightly.
1. Even if our prayers are not answered and our wishes are not fulfilled, God's grace is
It's ample.
As we all know, Moses' life was not easy. His life was eventful and tumultuous. However, until he reached the age of 120, he endured and overcame the difficult world and the harsh years. It was because God was with him with his abundant grace in every event. This did not mean that Moses' prayers were not answered the way he wanted them to be.
Moses, the leader of the Exodus, had a lifelong wish. It was, above all, to enter the promised land of Canaan. Of course, he made his wish known to God. “Please, let me cross over, so that I may see the beautiful land beyond the Jordan, the beautiful mountains, and Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25). It was a very gracious wish to ask them to step on the mountain. But God said to Moses, “It is enough, do not tell me about this again.”
Moses' prayer was not answered. His wish was not fulfilled. God rejected Moses' plea. In addition, God told Moses not to say such a wish again. Moses must have been momentarily disappointed. He would have been frustrated and dissatisfied. But he had no choice but to obey the word of God. Because he knew well that God's grace was sufficient to say, "Enough is enough," despite his own shortcomings. That's right. Even if my prayers have not been answered and my wishes have not been fulfilled, I believe that those who know that God's grace is sufficient for me will not end the day and life in a dark way with dissatisfaction and resentment, but brightly with thanks and praise.
The Center for the Disabled is located at 400 East 34th Street in New York City. A bronze plaque hangs on the wall of the hall's drawing room. Roy Campanella was in and out of the hall for several months in a wheelchair two or three times a week for physical therapy. But he never read the inscription on the nameplate. It is said to have been written by an unknown warrior. One afternoon, Roy Campanella finally turned her wheelchair back and read the article. And I read it again. Tears flowed as I read it over and over. They were not tears of sorrow and despair, but tears of courage and hope. The title of the article that moved him so much is “Poems for the Suffering.”
“I prayed to God to make me strong. To be successful in everything, but God made me weak. to learn humility.
I prayed for health. to be able to do many things. But I have received weakness. to do more worthwhile work.
I prayed for wealth. to be happy But I was poor. to have wisdom.
I prayed for strength. to get people's praise. But I was given inferiority. to feel the need of God.
I prayed to have it all. to enjoy life. But I received life as a gift. to enjoy everything.
I didn't get any of the things I asked for. But I got everything I needed as a gift.
Even though I am insignificant, God has answered all my silent prayers.” Amen!
Of course, God hears our prayers and grants our wishes. However, sometimes prayers may not be answered and wishes may not be fulfilled. This is because God does not give us what we want and asks for, but responds according to what God wants and wills. Therefore, even if our prayers are not answered and our wishes have not been fulfilled, I believe that God gives us everything we need as a gift rather than what we ask for and desire by His abundant grace.
The apostle Paul asked the Lord three times to remove the thorn in his flesh from him. Then the Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul's prayer was not answered. His wish was not fulfilled. But he said that with great joy he would boast about his many weaknesses. It was because he realized that God's grace was sufficient for him. “Enough is enough!” Dear brothers and sisters, even if your prayers have not been answered and your wishes have not been fulfilled, I hope that you will rejoice and give thanks for the abundant grace of God who said, “It is enough.”
2. Even if our mission is not completed and our work is not completed, God's grace is abundant.
As we well know, Moses was the first leader in the history of the Exodus. He went through all kinds of trials and tribulations for 40 years in the wilderness. And finally, he was about to enter Canaan. (Deuteronomy 1:5) By all accounts, Moses was the most qualified person to enter Canaan. Of course, Moses himself must have thought that entering the land of Canaan was the fulfillment of his mission. But God did not allow Moses to enter Canaan, saying, “It is enough.” Instead, God told Moses to go up to the top of Mt. Bisgas and look at the land facing east, west, south, and north. And he made Joshua his successor and let him go to the earth instead. (God 3L27,28)
God knew Moses' loyalty better than anyone. Moses was also more meek than any other man on earth. Moses' merits and qualifications were superior to anyone else's. However, God caused Moses' mission and work to come to an incomplete end. It was something that Moses and his people did not want to have to come to the threshold of Canaan and stop his mission incomplete. Nevertheless, Moses humbly accepted the incompleteness of his own mission and ministry. The people had no choice but to follow Joshua as their successor.
Moses, the man of God, never put forward his merits or achievements. Rather, he took on his own faults and responsibility for the people's unbelief and disobedience, which provoked God before the Rock of Meribah. And he showed faith and hope that God's work will still continue despite the incompleteness of his work. Of course, it was because he was well aware of the abundance of God's grace according to God's word. That's right. Even though I have not been able to complete my mission or complete my work, I believe that those who know that God's grace has been sufficient for me will not end their day and life in a dark way, but in a bright way.
Fifty years ago, the first five missionaries did not complete their mission, nor did they complete the ministry. However, God's mission and God's work were accomplished without fail despite their imperfections. This does not mean, however, that God's grace is lacking. I believe that God's grace has given us more than enough, even if my mission is not completed and my work is not completed.
The apostle Paul said in the last years of his life, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). However, he did not say that he had accomplished his mission or that he had completed his ministry. In Philippians 3:12, he confessed the incompleteness of his life and ministry. “Not that I have already obtained it, nor that it has been perfected, but I run to seize that for which I was captured by Christ Jesus”
No one in the world can say that he has already done everything perfectly. Our mission is not yet completed, and our ministry is not yet complete. But God's grace is abundant. And we believe that God's work will continue and be completed despite our incompleteness. “Enough is enough!” Dear brothers and sisters, even if the mission has not been completed and the work has not been completed, I hope that you will comfort and encourage each other because of God's abundant grace, "Enough is enough!"
In 1 Timothy 6:6, the apostle Paul said, “But godliness is of great gain with a contented heart.” That's right. A person with a contented heart will live a life of great wealth because of his godly life. On the other hand, those without a heart of contentment will not be able to enjoy the blessings that religion greatly benefits them.
As a Western proverb says, “Happiness lives in contentment.” Yes. Moses and Paul They were spiritual giants. Sometimes their prayers are not answered and their wishes are not fulfilled. Their mission has not been accomplished, and their ministry has not been completed. But they were happy. Because he knew that he would be content in God's abundant grace.
“Enough is enough!” Dear brothers and sisters, I sincerely pray in the name of the Lord that you will end this year and your life happily by being content with the abundance of God's grace that has helped you so far. Amen!
“Only for the Glory of God”