Bastar - To Be Enough.

Nada te turbe,
nada te espante,
todo se pasa,
Dios no se muda;
la paciencia
todo lo alcanza;
quien a Dios tiene
nada le falta:
Sólo Dios basta.

Let nothing disturb you,

Let nothing scare you,

Whatever happens,

God is not moved.

Patience

is sufficient for everything

He who belongs to God

does not lack anything

God alone is enough.

I read this poem my sophomore year of college in my Introduction to Hispanic Literature class.  For some reason, that last phrase, Sólo Dios basta, has always stuck in my mind.  

I think that last word is what got me: basta, from the verb bastar. It means literally "to be enough." There isn't a one-word-equivalent in English, but it's a phrase, or an idea, that we use and think about quite a bit, even if we don't realize it. 

When I think about the word enough, I automatically think of food (if you know me, not a huge surprise there).  Almost every morning, I wake up a ravenous beast. I want to eat the largest bowl of cereal you can give me. Do you have a mixing bowl? Sure, I'll take it (okay, slight exaggeration). I, in my American way of thinking, am concerned that a small bowl of cereal won't be enough. It won't suffice. It won't satisfy my hunger. 

I have the same problem when I go to a restaurant. Being a girl, and knowing the enormous amounts of calories in many of the meals offered at restaurants, I often go for the "Under 500 Calorie Meal" or the "Healthy Choice," though I'd rather eat a giant bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries (sometimes I cave).   I'm never really concerned if the food will be good, just if it will be enough to satisfy my hunger.

But that question of satisfaction stretches to other areas of my life as well...

Am I pretty enough? 

Skinny enough? 

Spiritual enough? 

Smart enough? 

Good enough? 

AM I ENOUGH?  

No, I am not.

But for the first time ever in my life, I am finding joy in this truth. I cannot satisfy my deep desire for God. I cannot satisfy his requirement of perfection. I am too weak, too emotional, too doubtful, too sinful, too full of sin. I am resting in the truth that God says to me, when I am fearing my ability to accomplish His will, "You are NOT, but I AM." God, and God alone, is enough to satisfy. He covers my SIN through the BLOOD of His precious Son, Jesus. And through His blood, through Jesus, I find that I don't need anything else in the world except the presence of my God. 

HE ALONE IS ENOUGH. 

Sólo Dios basta.

God has said, 

"Never will I leave you; 

Never will I forsake you."

Hebrews 13:5b