Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you (Ps. 73:25).
We talked to over 1,000 teen girls about the lies that were making them feel depressed, lonely, angry, stressed, hopeless and a lot of other terrible emotions. Though they didn’t realize it, many of them had fallen for the lie, “God is not enough.” Sure, they knew that God should be enough, but they found themselves holding out for something more: If I just had a friend I could count on, that would be enough . . . If my parents let me stay out late, that would be enough . . . If I got into my dream college, that would be enough . . . If I had a boyfriend, that would be enough . . . In the end, 88 percent of them agreed that they believed the lie: “God is not enough.” In fact, it was the most commonly believed lie young women were struggling to overcome.
The Idol of Others
We have struggled with this lie, too! I, Nancy, went through a hard time when a close friend and mentor died, another moved away, and a third friend was removed from my life through a tragic circumstance. I was devastated. For the next several months, I struggled with feelings of disappointment with God and battled some intense doubts about my faith. Finally, as I began to cry out to the Lord, He showed me that I had been looking to my friends to meet my needs and to fill the deepest places of my heart. I discovered that by putting people in the place of God, they had become idols in my life. I began to realize that there was no human (or anything else) on the planet that could truly satisfy my unfulfilled longings. I discovered that I was insecure because I was placing my trust in people, who could be taken away from me, rather than in the One who never changes and who will never leave me. That desperate season proved to be a huge turning point in my life. I repented of my idolatry and asked God to show me when I was expecting others to meet needs that only He could meet. He brought me to the place where I could honestly say:
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you (Ps. 73:25).
The Truth
God is enough; He will meet your needs and wants to be your closest confidant. His Word promises: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).
- He is the One who can heal your heart when it is broken (Ps. 147:3).
- He is the One who can encourage, guide, and protect you (Ps. 121:7).
- He is the One who can make you feel safe when others fail you (Ps. 27:10).
- He is the One who can make you feel valued no matter what you can or cannot do (Matt. 10:29–31).
We get to know our friends better as we spend time with them. The same is true about having a friendship with God. As we spend time reading and thinking about what He’s saying to us in His Word, or as we pray or meet with others to worship Him or study the Bible together, our relationship with Him grows deeper. The more you get to know God, the more you see that He is the only One who can meet your deepest needs.
It’s Your Turn
Do you believe you need something or someone other than God in order to be happy? How can you spend extra time getting to know God this week? Keep reading the blog all week for more wisdom from Lies Young Women Believe, written by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Dannah Gresh.