This is Focus # 300! To God be All the glory!!!! Last year, on my 70^th birthday, my son, Jonathan, gave me a card that said simply on the front cover, “On your birthday, you deserve the best.” When I opened it, I found the words, “That’s why you’ve got me!”

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6a, NKJV).                                                                                                                              

I’ve Got Jesus and That’s Enough!

Dorothy Love Coates was a powerful force in gospel music, not only because of her passionate voice and emotive stage presence, but also because she was such a great and prolific songwriter. She wrote such gospel classics as “Holding on to My Faith,” “You Can’t Hurry God,” “You Brought Me from a Mighty Long Way,” “The Righteous on the March,” “Get on Board, Little Children, “99 and a Half Won’t Do,” etc. I know you recognize some of them. Her lyrics were both spiritually charged and socially conscious. With such themes as determination, equity, justice, and hope, Coates’ songs inspired the Civil Rights Movement.

She lived in Birmingham, Alabama, where she was born just as the nation was about to enter the great depression. She witnessed the severity of that time and later worked closely with Dr. M. L. King, Jr. Having endured a gross lack of resources and the meanness of the Jim Crow era, similar to what we are experiencing now, she wrote one of her greatest compositions, “I’ve Got Jesus and That’s Enough.”  The song included such lyrics as: 

 There’s always somebody talkin’ bout me, but really, I don’t mind.  They try to block and stop my progress most of the time.  The mean things you say don’t make me feel bad.        How can I miss a friend that I’ve never had?   I’ve got Jesus, Oh Lord, and that’s enough! … You may scorn me, turn your back on me, But God’s got His arms wrapped all around me. When you crush me down, Jesus picks me, and He sticks by me when the going gets tough…Takes care of me when my enemies get rough’ve got Jesus, and oh yes, that’s enough! 

Just before the start of “Pray 21,” the 21-day fall fast that our church, GMCHC, is currently observing, some of us participated in a 3-day “Only Jesus-Fast” (water only) with over 160 individuals from multiple churches nationwide.  It was similar to the Ahava River experience, where Ezra gathered his followers to fast and pray for three days before returning to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon.

When we can appreciate that Jesus has all we need, we can deal effectively with anything life throws at us.  In his successful attempt to make me laugh with the birthday card last year, Jonathan, whose name means “God gives” or “gift of God,” subtly and symbolically reminded me that I have all I need in the One who gave His all for me.

No, I do not deserve Him and didn’t earn the gift that He is to me, but thank God, I’ve got Jesus! He is the way, the truth, and the life! That’s enough! When I’m sick, He heals me! That’s enough! When I’m empty, He fills me! That’s enough! I could go on and on, but, Oh Yes, that’s enough!

Focus Quote: “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give [you] a rich and satisfying life.”                                                                      –John 10:10 (NLT)

 Please click the link below to see how to obtain a copy of my book, Standing on the Promises: Defeating Fear and Breaking Barriers, at altonesumner.com – an inspiring motivational ministry. Please continue to join us at 5:14 p.m. each day as we pause to pray. Just pause and pray wherever you are. Just connect to God and pray! I will also be praying with you. There is power in agreement!