Is Christ really enough?

Last week was a very disappointing week for our little family. Carl has been working very hard at a job where the only way to get a raise is basically to get a promotion. It comes with having a job where it is Unionized. I used to think that if a company was a part of a union it meant that you got better wages, more vacation time, ect. and we've learned that this is not always the case. Carl has reached the "maximum" pay under contract and he will get a 2% raise in 2012 but 2% ends up being only 28cents, and for a family of 4 with student loans it's not enough. Like I said the only way to get a significant raise is to get a promotion but promotions in unions aren't always given to those that work the hardest or that are the best but often they are given to those that have more seniority. Thus, our disappointing week last week.

Sometimes it feels like God is blessing every one else around us, others get promotions, others get to pursue their dreams and God has this constant Yield sign in front of our faces.
All of this has led me to ask the question is Christ really enough? And when the apostles speak of Christ being "enough" for them what does that really mean?

I often wonder if all these things that we say we "need" we really don't but how can you not really need them if you live in a world that requires it of you to have them? Such as paying the bills, paying loans, buying clothes, and food? How can you not need something that has severe consequences if you don't have it? If you don't have food, you can starve? If you don't have a place to live you can freeze, or die of heat exhaustion, ,or your children can be taken away from you.So maybe it's not so much that we don't "need" these things but that the consequences of not having these things is minimal compared to the consequence of not having Christ.

Was last week disappointing? Yes, but did God still show himself to be true and faithful? Of course. So my plans for our 2011 have completely been washed away but maybe God is simply just making room for HIS plans? And if His plans are supposed to be more richer why wouldn't I want those plans instead of mine?

But I am still left with lots of questions that I am eagerly wanting to learn more about the answers to them.

What does it really mean to "hope in God" to place our hope and rest in Christ? And not in our dreams not in our plans and when we hope and rest in God/Christ what a great peace we can find in the midst of trials that we don't always understand.