"Enough"

“Enough”

Kevin Probst

8/15/2025

Jacob was the brother of Esau, and a crafty and deceptive brother he was. He successfully connived to steal away his brother’s birthright. Feeling guilt and a great deal of fear, Jacob approached his brother with a gift consisting of a great herd of livestock in hopes that he might purchase forgiveness for what he had done.

“When Esau saw Jacob approaching with all his family and servants and all sorts of goats, rams, camels, cattle, and donkeys, he considered it all and looked at Jacob and said, 'I have enough, my brother” (Genesis 33:9).

I’ve thought about how unusual it is for a man to be satisfied that he has enough. Our lives seemed consumed with an exhaustive effort to accumulate more and more. No one, no matter how old, how productive, or how wealthy, seems to reach a point in life where they can say, along with Esau, “I have enough.”

I am at a point in my life where I spend much more time reflecting on my past than thinking about my future. I have concluded that I have received enough. I have experienced a flood of God’s blessings. I have more than enough. I am also aware that in return, I have not given enough.

I have recently thought of all the wonderful people God has placed in my life. Beginning with two wonderful parents who made tremendous sacrifices so that I might have greater opportunities and live a more comfortable life than they ever did. They were imperfect for sure. They fought their own spiritual battles and struggled through the torrential storms of life. But they did enough to point me in the right direction.

I was sent to a private Christian school five hundred miles from home at the age of fifteen, which may seem harsh to some, but it was probably the best thing my parents could have done for me. There I lived with some of the most godly people I’ve ever met. They invested so much into my life. They were certainly imperfect in their humanity, but they were doing their best to be obedient to God, to answer their calling, and make the necessary sacrifices to pour into the lives of hundreds of young men and women. It wasn’t a perfect school of perfect people, but God was giving me enough to stir a hunger in my heart to have what these people taught and lived.

I am thankful for my family. All of my family, wife, children, grandchildren, siblings, all imperfect humans that God placed in my life as a great blessing to me. These are the people I love most in life. They struggle with the difficulty of trying to correct their imperfections. They try patiently to cope with my imperfections. All of that said, they are enough. Enough to satisfy my need to be a husband to a wife, a father to my children, and a grandfather to my grandchildren. God has blessed me, not with perfection, but with enough.

I have some wonderful friends. None of them is perfect. But they are enough. They are quick to provide an ear when I need someone to listen. They are quick to extend a strong arm when I need lifting.

I have been blessed to work with some very godly co-workers. They, in their humanity, and I in mine, are laden down with weaknesses. Didn’t Paul remind us that “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7) All of us work together as imperfect beings, performing our tasks imperfectly toward a unified goal of impacting the lives of young people. Though imperfect, God finds enough to accomplish his will and wring glory from our imperfect efforts.

In my reflections, I celebrate the innumerable blessings of God. I have been blessed to know godly people. I have been blessed to learn truth from his written word. I have heard thousands upon thousands of sermons and lessons that have expanded my understanding of the God I serve. He has taken me to wonderful places to work with people whose spiritual gifts I can only admire and often envy. He has given me a wonderful family that has faithfully supported me in my darkest moments and shared my joy during my brightest days.

I can surely say with Esau, “I have enough.”

God has given me far, far more they I need. I have been blessed with far more than enough to satisfy all my longings, more than enough for me to find my way to a Savior who died that I might be free, that I might experience eternal salvation.

What have I given in return for all I have received? I believe surely one day I will stand with regrets before a God who has blessed me with more than enough and feel much remorse that I didn’t give him more in the lifespan that was granted to me. In my remaining years, I know I can never do enough, but I want to do so much more.