Enough!

The power to live an overcoming life comes from the One who resides within us, who gives us insight and inner strength and peace, and who invites us to rest in His power.   Here is what 1 Corinthians says:
57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

When we encounter adversity in our lives, when our circumstances seem hopeless, or when the power of temptation threatens to overwhelm us, it's important that we recognize the powerful resources that God has made available.   We cannot stand against the destructive devices of the enemy in our own strength - we must rely on God's power - He has promised to be with us, and we can abide in His peace when the trials come.  When the struggles ensue, through a knowledge of His presence, through prayer and the proclamation of His Word, we can know the triumph that He promises.

We have great assurance that we cannot be separated from the love of Christ.   Even though we face trials and temptations, He is the One who gives us strength to stand and overcome.   Here is a passage from Romans 8:
35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?36As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."37Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

A construction explosion in Saugus, Massachusetts, caused a large boulder to come loose and almost roll into Grace Ministries Church.  According to a piece on the UPI.com website, Pastor Rick LeClair told WCVB that, "If it rolled another 12 inches, it would have gone right through the building...This boulder was probably 20 tons."

He related that, "We were standing across the street saying, 'Uh-oh. There it goes.'" He added, "I was thinking the church was going to get wrecked, but I had this peace about me where it really wasn't going to get wrecked. And it didn't. The Lord just kinda said, 'That's enough.'"

Grace Ministries has a food pantry that feeds thousands, which would likely have been shut down if the boulder had hit the church.

Amazing story - just a foot short of going into the church building.   A miraculous event!

The boulder represented a clear peril to the building and the ministry that had taken place there.   God intervened in a mighty way.   So, what do we do when the perils of life are coming at us - rolling seemingly headlong toward us?

First of all, it's important to recognize the attack.   In a situation involving spiritual warfare, there are certain resources that we have available to us - prayer, the armor of God, the power of the spoken Word. And, ultimately, we rest upon the power of our Almighty God, recognizing that greater is He who is in us than He that is in the world.

We can seek to abide in the peace of the Almighty, in the shadow of His hand, when destructive forces come our way.  Pastor LeClair was content in the midst of potentially devastating circumstances, and our reliance on God's peace can provide us with clarity of heart and mind when we are facing those anxiety-producing times.

Finally, we can trust God to say, "That's enough."   Jesus taught that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but He gives abundant life.  We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus, and are told that He always leads us in to triumph.   So, when temptation comes our way, rolling like a boulder to invade our lives, we can know that God has made a way of escape - in our reliance on Him, He says, "enough!"  When the trials of life steal our joy and we are hopeless and despondent, He says, "enough!"   We can stand strong in His power.  When we are weak, He is strong - He declares, "enough!"   He is more than enough for us.