I am Enough! Biblical Devotional for Christian Women Sharing God's Truth

Have you ever felt like you’re not enough? I have. As a little girl, I was persuaded by my mother that in order to be enough, I needed to perform and achieve perfection. Also, she taught me that, to be whole, I needed a man. In fact, this kind of thinking is often validated by our culture. As a single professional woman who likes to dine solo, I’m sometimes treated at restaurants as if I were half of a customer, not a whole. I am enough and I am whole! You are, too! That’s the truth.

Table of Content hide

1 Introduction

2 Feeling Like I Am Not Enough

3 Discovering That I Am Enough

4 God Created Mankind In His Own Image – Genesis 1:27

5 I Am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made – Psalm 139:14

6 We Are God’s Handiwork, Created In Christ Jesus To Do Good Works God Prepared In Advance for Us To Do – Ephesians 2:10

7 I Am Enough Affirmations

8 I Am Enough Bible Verse

9 I Am Enough Poem

10 Summary

Introduction

Let me first start by showing you how our culture assures us in our not-enoughness. Then, I’ll tell you what I was literally taught by my mother growing up. After that, I’ll reveal what helped me free myself from this kind of garbage-thinking and realize, as well as embrace, the fact that I am enough.

I’ll share with you my I Am Enough poem, which was born during my speaker interview for TEDx Alpharetta Women, which launched in Atlanta during the pandemic with a theme “SEEK.” Though I was not chosen as a speaker for 2020, I’m grateful that I did interview because now I have this amazing poem called “I Am Enough!“

So, let’s get started.

On August 30th, 2020 I called a nice Sunday-brunch kind of restaurant on the Chattahoochee river to make a reservation for myself. Amanda answered the phone. She said: “We are booked four weeks ahead.” I asked: “Do you have any reservations for September 20th?” It will be the day after I deliver my TEDx talk. Amanda asked: “How many people?

… And this is where it got interesting.

I answered: “One.”

Amanda was shocked, and she didn’t hide her emotions. In her voice I heard a disappointing frustration, revealing how much she was disgusted by the idea of me wasting her time trying to reserve a table to dine solo. She informed me that patio tables were only for parties larger than one. She literally told me that as a party of one, I should just hang out at a bar. Then, she also blamed me for upsetting her.

Here’s how the conversation unfolded.

Amanda exclaimed: “Oh! Wow! JUST one?!?!“

A long silent pause here…

I repeated my response calmly: “Amanda, there’s one person in my party.”

Amanda: “If it’s JUST you, you can come any time and sit at the bar...”

A silent pause here…

I said quietly: “I would like to sit outside on the patio.”

Amanda: “Oh! Oh! If it’s JUST you..”

I asked: “Does your restaurant discriminate against single women?“

She said: “I didn’t meant to offend you.”

I didn’t tell Amanda that she offended me.

The only reason why Amanda made her disclaimer was that she knew how offensive her outrageous behavior actually was. I asked to speak with a manager. Amanda said she was the manager. Then, it got even more interesting.

Amanda: “Can I place your on a brief hold?“

Me: “Yes.”

A random person picks up the phone.

The random person: “Can I help you?”

Me: “I was speaking with Amanda.”

Random person: “Amanda is in great distress right now. YOU upset Amanda.“

A long silent pause here…

I reached out to the owner. He called me and explained that they don’t support this kind of attitude toward solo female diners. He invited me to dine alone any time. I then physically went to the restaurant personally and spoke with the General Manager who assured me that they had already talked to Amanda and informed her that her inappropriate behavior toward me was discriminative.

Yes, it surely was.

Feeling Like I Am Not Enough

Truth be told, Amanda’s discrimination toward me as a single female diner wasn’t the first time I had ever experienced such treatment at a fine restaurant. I once showed up at a fine French restaurant in the heart of Buckhead and, when asked “JUST one???!” was looked at as if I were carrying a bomb.

The reason why I care so much about this is that discrimination of single women is universal, interracial, multilingual, and toxic. It’s also unlawful and unacceptable. It’s dangerous! I am enough. I am whole. I am not half of anything! I am a human and don’t need to be complete. I am complete already. I don’t need to be coupled with anyone or achieve something special for me to be enough in the future.

I am enough already, right now!

When women are taught that without a “better half” they are not whole and not enough, it causes feelings of inadequacy. Many women contemplate suicide because they feel not enough and not whole without having “a better half.” I know personally that it’s absolutely true, both in Christian circles and in the secular community.

That’s why I’m passionate about speaking up against this kind of discrimination and not tolerating this passive-aggressive cultural abuse against single women anymore.

I’m 37.

More than 30 years ago, I was brainwashed by my mother that I was worthless without a man. My mother was obsessed with boyfriends for me when I was just five years old. Her toxic BS resulted in so many mental, emotional, and behavioral issues for me, including multiple addictions. Over the years, her mental abuse escalated.

She served me alcoholic beverages when I was just a little innocent girl. She was preparing me for “real life” and “womanhood.” She addicted me to porn, taught me how to seduce married men, and demanded from me to ditch my pursuit of education and leverage my body instead of my brain. She made me feel worthless whenever I was single.

My mother specifically told me that being single was a curse because I was not enough, I was not whole if I was alone. She enticed me to chase men. So, I did. She told me that a woman who doesn’t have Prince Charming is stupid. She said that I could only be considered “a smart woman” if I have a man, even if he is abusive toward me.

In fact, she taught me that if a man beats me, that means he loves me and cares passionately about our relationship. I married and divorced three times due to that kind of destructive upbringing. I experienced domestic violence and narcissistic abuse.

My experiences have taught me to examine, clean up, renew, guard, and own my own mind. I had to develop new thinking habits and new beliefs. I had to establish strong boundaries. I’ve learned over the years that the things my mother said were false.

In the last six years, I’ve spent a lot of time unraveling the damage caused by my mother. I’ve been taking captive every belief she embedded in my subconscious mind and submitting it to the truth of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), renewing my mind daily (Romans 12:2), and focusing on what God says about me. This work has been intense and painful at times. Yet, it offered healing and genuine transformation, not in my own power, but in the power of God, my maker.

Learning to see myself the way God sees me has changed my life forever. I know the truth, and the truth has set me free! I now stand firm in my identity as a child of God: made perfect in the image of my creator. I am whole. I am enough!

Discovering That I Am Enough

This journey has been difficult yet rewarding. I had to unpack my baggage and do a massive cleaning of my headspace. I had to look into each thought I was thinking through a magnifying glass of Biblical truth. I had to trace each of my beliefs down to my childhood. I had to understand where my toxic and false thinking came from: my family.

Born out of wedlock during the crush of the USSR, raised on welfare by a single mom with mental health issues, I was assured by her that, as a stupid and ugly person, I would never amount to anything. She told me again and again that I was worthless and a mistake.

My mom described to me often, without any regret, how she went to abort me. She would look me straight in the eye and say: “I hate you and I just want you dead!” We were extremely poor but what I remember the most is not poverty but rather the fact that I had never experienced unconditional love. I did experience a lot of violence and bullying from my cruel mother. I felt confused about who I was and why I was even born. I attempted suicide twice as a child.

RELATED: My Suicide Story

My grandmother was ashamed of me for being fatherless so much that she asked me to never call her “grandma” in public. All I knew about my father was that he was in jail and that I was an unwanted accident. Growing up in a small Soviet condo full of adulterous alcoholic relatives, I endured emotional abuse and physical violence. I was raped twice. I experienced teen pregnancy. I suffered a miscarriage at 17.

When I was little, my tall, obese, and loud mom who wore huge glasses appeared gigantic, strong, powerful, and very smart. I believed everything she taught me about life and living. It was all false and toxic but I didn’t have the life experience to discern. She was my primary caregiver. Most of what I was intentionally taught about life, people, relationships, love, friendships, and my identity was my mother’s input. Those beliefs became my primary point of view about myself, my ability, my purpose, my place in the world, and my future.

In 2014, I began to uncover what I believed.

When I had my brain dumped on paper, I was shocked to see that almost everything I believed was false, toxic, destructive, and sourced from what my narcissistic mother taught me. Not only did I not have any wisdom inherited from my mother’s teachings, but I also had no common sense when it came to many things, especially my body, sexuality, identity as a woman, and my basic human dignity.

READ: Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers

Most of my beliefs were toxic. They were damaging.

This was so painful to realize because I loved my mom and I trusted her when I was little. Realizing that she was neither equipped nor qualified to be a mother was hurtful. Uncovering all the damage she had done was tough. But it was the beginning of my healing. Once I ditched what she taught me, I started with a blank mind.

I decided that only God was qualified to teach me about my identity, lifestyle, purpose, relationships, boundaries, thinking, friendships, sexuality, and future. So, I embarked on a journey to explore who I am in Christ. I learned that, according to the Bible, I am God’s masterpiece. I discovered that my body s a temple for the Holy Spirit. I learned from the Bible that I am loved, I am worthy, I am valuable, I am accepted, I am anointed, I am powerful!

I didn’t come her from my mother but through her.

I came from God. He designed me.

He wanted me here for His sacred reasons.

I am created in the image of God by God.

God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27

My all-knowing, all-powerful creator knit me together before I was born. I was woven by God in secret to become His masterpiece. He made me fearfully and wonderfully, and He didn’t make a mistake. I am exactly how I’m supposed to be: whole and enough. I am His work of art. God wanted me to be here, alive, glorifying Him.

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:13-16

I am God’s handiwork: the result of the work He did with His own hands. He manufactured me and labeled me His. God created me for a very special purpose. He prepared good works in advance for me to do, so He made me for His very special type of work, exactly how He wanted me. I am enough! I am whole. I am complete.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10

God’s word taught me that I am enough.

The culture teaches me that I need a “better half.”

My mother taught me that, without a man, I’m nothing.

Whom do I trust more: my mother and the culture or God? Of course, what God says about me is way more powerful than what my mom said or what Amanda was trying to say when she was discriminating against me as a solo female diner or what a person at church says persuading me that I need a man because it’s not good for a man to be alone. It’s good for me to be alone! I am enough. I am whole. And I am enjoying my wholeness and enoughness. I am enjoying my singleness. I am enjoying doing this divine work for God through my Christian ministry. I am not a half of something. I am one whole precious, special, loved, worthy, and valuable child of the most-high God! am a daughter of the King!

Let’s explore what God says about you.

God Created Mankind In His Own Image – Genesis 1:27

If you’re feeling like you’re not enough, ask yourself if you truly believe what the Bible says. If you do, ponder Genesis 1:27. It reveals two important things about you. First, God created you. You were created by the King of kings! Second, God created you in His own image. This means that you resemble God. You are like God. Is God enough? Yes! And so are you. You are whole, worthy, enough, and valuable.

How does knowing this make you feel?

I Am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made – Psalm 139:14

If you established in your heart and mind that you do believe what the Bible says, ponder Psalm 139:14. God made you fearfully and wonderfully! You are not the way you are accidentally. No. You were manufactured by God for His specific purpose, exactly how He wanted you to be. You are wonderful. You are whole. You aren’t a half of something. You’re not missing any parts. You were made to exist in this world the way you are to glorify God. You are enough!

How does knowing this make you feel?

We Are God’s Handiwork, Created In Christ Jesus To Do Good Works God Prepared In Advance for Us To Do – Ephesians 2:10

If your heart and mind trust Biblical truth about who you are in Christ, ponder Ephesians 2:10 which calls you “God’s handiwork,” which means art, a priceless possession. Another very important aspect of who you are is that you were created to do God’s special work. You’re not like anyone else because you have your own special assignment. You are special, manufactured divinely for God’s assignment. You are perfect for your sacred purpose, which was ordained by God before you were even born. You are special, whole, unique, and perfect.

How does knowing this make you feel?

I Am Enough Affirmations

We’ve discussed what God says about you. Now that you know the truth, I hope you are free from the toxic, false, and destructive beliefs imposed on you by people and culture. In my own life, every day I have to renew my mind by taking every negative thought about myself captive and submitting it to the truth about my identity in Christ. To share my spiritual breakthroughs, I created 52 Biblical affirmations. My hope is to encourage and empower you with the 13 of I Am Enough affirmations below. These are linked to more helpful content.

Each I Am Enough affirmation above came from my personal searching in 2017 when I was abused in my third marriage and was severely depressed and suicidal. My goal was to refocus from what my husband Michel said about me and dwell on what God said about me instead. I found 52 answers to the question “Who Am I?” Then, I created I Am Enough affirmations based on scriptures.

I put all 52 Biblical affirmations in an ebook and would like to give it to you as a free gift. You will see the ebook link at the end of this blog post. May you be healed, uplifted, encouraged, empowered, and transformed by God’s truth about who you are!

I Am Enough Bible Verse

Though I was persuaded in my inadequacy as a single woman, God healed me by ridding me of my false beliefs and giving me His word of truth. I am enough not because I said so but because God said so! This kind of confidence in who you are as a child of God is what I want for you. You are enough! You are whole. You are not halved. You are complete. You are worthy.

The scriptures below discuss your identity.

1 Corinthians 1:30 
1 Corinthians 6:11
1 Corinthians 7:17
1 Corinthians 12:4
1 Corinthians 15:58
1 Corinthians 16:14
1 John 1:9
1 John 2:3-6 
1 John 2:27
1 John 3:2 
1 John 4:7-8
1 John 5:12 
1 Peter 1:13
1 Peter 2:9
1 Peter 4:10-11
2 Corinthians 5:17
2 Thessalonians 3:16
2 Timothy 1-7
2 Timothy 4:18
Acts 1:8 
Colossians 2:6-7 
Colossians 3:12 
Colossians 3:15
Colossians 3:17
Deuteronomy 31:6 
Ephesians 1:3
Ephesians 1:3-14
Ephesians 1:7
Ephesians 1:13-14
Ephesians 2:4-5
Ephesians 2:10 
Ephesians 4:2
Ephesians 4:31-32
Ephesians 6:10 
Ephesians 4:22-24 
Exodus 35:31-32
Ezekiel 36:26 
Galatians 2:19-20 
Galatians 3:13-14
Galatians 3:22
Galatians 3:26 
Galatians 4:7
Galatians 5:1
Galatians 5:22-23 
Genesis 2:7 
Isaiah 11:2 
Isaiah 30:21
Isaiah 41:10
Isaiah 43:1-3
Isaiah 53:5
Isaiah 54:8
Isaiah 54:17
Isaiah 61:10
Isaiah 62:3
James 1:5 
Jeremiah 1:5
John 3:16
John 7:38
John 8:31-32
John 12:26
John 13:31-32
John 13:34-35
John 15:16
John 16:33
Joshua 1:9
Luke 12:7 
Matthew 5:14-16
Matthew 5:16
Matthew 7:7
Matthew 28:19-20
Philippians 1:6
Philippians 3:20
Philippians 4:6-7 
Philippians 4:11-12
Philippians 4:13
Proverbs 3:5-6
Proverbs 3:11-12
Proverbs 14:8
Proverbs 14:15
Proverbs 14:29
Proverbs 22:3
Proverbs 24:14
Psalm 16:3
Psalm 28:7 
Psalm 32:1-2 
Psalm 103:2-5 
Psalm 119:66
Psalm 139:14
Romans 3:21 
Romans 5:8
Romans 5:19
Romans 6:18
Romans 8:1-2
Romans 8:28 
Romans 8:37
Romans 12:2 
Romans 12:12
Romans 14:3
Romans 15:7 
Romans 15:13

When I was confused about my identity, life was hard. I sought approval and validation from others. I chased men. I would mistake sex for love. I felt incomplete and halved. Now, I am enough! My journey and breakthroughs are shared in my newest poem, which reveals how I came to this spiritual realization and changed my perception of my enoughness. No more chasing love, acceptance, approval, or validation!

I Am Enough Poem

When I applied to speak at TEDx Alpharetta Women for the 2020 conference, I submitted a talk idea about women’s enoughness. Though my speaker application for the 2020 “SEEK” conference was rejected, I was blessed by God with this new I Am Enough! poem.

May it be a blessing to you as you’re embracing God’s truth! May my poem stir you up on the inside and entice you to guard your mind and heart against worldly lies, false teachings, and toxic opinions about who you are. May this spiritual poem change your understanding of yourself! May it make you stronger and more confident!

"I Am Enough!" #PoemsFromGod

As a little girl, I was brainwashed to believe 
That I needed a man in order for me to live.
That I was supposed to seek my better half,
That a husband and babies I had to have.

My true passions were formal education and self-learning.
I dreamed that one day my own money I’d be independently earning. 
I wanted to pursue knowledge and seek my own path. 
I was inspired by poetry and genuinely obsessed with math.

I was persuaded that this was all considered insane,
That womanhood was about using the body, not the brain. 
I was taught by my mom to think less and sleep around more.
I graduated from four universities but was as confused as ever before. 

I married and divorced three times only to realize 
That my worthiness doesn’t come from babies or guys.
I’m not a half of anything. I am completely whole.
The purpose of my life isn’t to get a man. It’s to have a peaceful soul. 

Today, I enjoy a simple, single, and celibate life.
I am not anyone’s girlfriend, mother, or wife.
I am an author, poet, blogger, artist, and speaker. 
Being single and celibate, I am stronger, not weaker.

I’m not confused about who I am or why I’m here anymore.
I’m living out my passion. Life now is a blessing, not a chore.
I am a two-times suicide survivor, and I’m telling you this:
You’re not a half! You are enough! You can be single and have a bliss! 

Stop searching outside of yourself for happiness and contentment!
Stop listening to others’ opinions while suffocating from resentment!
Seek your own path! Everyone’s journey is unique.
There’s a clear path for you. To find it, you must seek. 


8/26/2020 © Anna Szabo, JD, MBA

I go out to restaurants alone. The way I see myself now is as having been labeled by my manufacturer. What does my label say? It says “Made in heaven by God for His divine purpose, Anna is a perfect and special child of God created fearfully and wonderfully, she is a valuable piece of art, purchased at a very high price, so she is priceless.”

Because of my newly-discovered enoughness, I no longer seek men, validation from sex, or the approval of others. I stand firm in who God created me to be. I am confident in my wholeness and enoughness. So, I travel alone. I shop alone. I work out alone. I no longer feel halved. There isn’t a “better half” I’m somehow missing. I am complete. I experience peace and joy knowing that I am enough.

Summary

I am enough. This is a breakthrough. God’s truth about my identity changed me, my lifestyle, my thinking, my career path, and my future. As you’re reading this, I want you to tell me in the comments below how life would change for you if you believed wholeheartedly that you are enough. Tell me so that we can grow in faith together.

It took almost six years of spiritual, emotional, and mental healing for me to write the new I Am Enough poem. It resulted from thousands of hours of quiet time with God, diving deep into His word, examining my beliefs against His eternal truth, and renewing my mind.

You are enough. You are whole.

Let God’s truth heal you.

I help women see themselves the way God sees them. I’ve specifically been focusing my content on identity in Christ for the last several years because knowing who you are as a child of God is the foundation of everything you think and do. It is what influences your thoughts, perceptions, emotions, feelings, behaviors, actions, and interactions.

The Bible is the source of the 52 things God says about you, which I discovered and put together into an ebook for Christian women. I turned my Biblical discoveries into 52 empowering affirmations created to encourage you in every life situation. Download them now for free. This Spirit-inspired ebook helps you understand who God says you are. Don’t be vulnerable to identity attacks from the mainstream media, relatives, coworkers, your boss, society, culture, and the voices in your head. Stand firm and know what God says about you!

Get the ebook now.

Introduction

Feeling Like I Am Not Enough

Discovering That I Am Enough

God Created Mankind In His Own Image – Genesis 1:27

I Am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made – Psalm 139:14

We Are God’s Handiwork, Created In Christ Jesus To Do Good Works God Prepared In Advance for Us To Do – Ephesians 2:10

I Am Enough Affirmations

I Am Enough Bible Verse

I Am Enough Poem

Summary

You May Also Like

“I am Healed” – Devotional #4

“I am a Peacemaker” – Devotional #29

“I am Grateful” – Devotional #45