“Do your best.”  We say it like it’s a panacea for everything. A magic phrase that will somehow validate our efforts and make all come right.

True, this encouragement has its place. For children headed off to school or onto the soccer field. For that job interview. For anyone stepping out of their element and attempting something new, it’s a positive thing to say. It’s great advice. It’s a fine word of affirmation.
 

But what do we do when our best is not good enough?
 

What do we do when the mountain is too high? What do we do when our skill set doesn’t match the challenge. What do we do when what is on our plate is too hard to swallow. What do we do when we’ve tried so many times and failed. What do we do when our wisdom runs out. What do we do when we’ve fought ourselves and lost. What do we do when we’ve beaten our heads against the wall trying to offer truth to someone who isn’t listening. What do we do when we don’t know what to do?

God.

Take a look at the last two paragraphs. What a visual they make. One hundred words verses one. That pretty much sums up the life of a believer—and hallelujah for that.

I laid in bed the other night, sleepless, staring at the streetlights reflected on the ceiling. Struggling with harder than hard circumstances, I had exhausted every prayer and had nothing left with which to pray. Guilt ridden, I tried again only to realize I was merely feeding God my ideas of what I thought needed to happen. I stopped mid-sentence and laid quietly in the darkness. Thankful for my silence, I believe all of heaven breathed a collective “Finally.”
 

God will bring us to the end of ourselves. If we are to ever find freedom in this fallen world, God must take us to the place where we end—and hallelujah for that.

Paul got this. No streetlights for him, but I wonder where he was in life when he stopped telling God what to do and all heaven said “Finally.” What brought him to the realization that his puny best, his over-whelming weakness, was the key to the victorious over-coming we all seek. Where was he when God spoke? Was it on the road to Damascus? Maybe. Wherever and whenever it was, hallelujah he wrote it down.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.   2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV

Paul is boasting here, glad that his best is not good enough. Think about that.

The truth is, our best will never be good enough. Our wisdom is finite. Our understanding skewed. Our willpower faulty, our bodies compromised. Our patience limited. Our will stubborn, Our temperaments frustrating, but…

God.

After a time of silence, I got out of bed, walked downstairs, poured a glass of milk, and picked up my Bible. It was my turn to listen to what God had to say. He said plenty.

• God is not finished with us.  “… He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

• He understands our struggle. “For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.” Psalm 103:14
  
• Our inabilities do not limit what God can accomplish in and through us. “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.” 2 Corinthians 3:5
  
• Our best plans, prayers, or present circumstances are no match for the power of God. “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever….” Ephesians 3:20

• And rest. He offers us rest from “trying our best.” “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. Finally. 

When you come to the end of your best, open your Bible and see what God has written down. Discover how He replaces the finite, the skewed, the faulty, the compromised, the limited, the stubborn, and the frustrating with HIS strength—with His best for those He loves with an everlasting love.

Hours later, I downed the last sip of milk, closed my eyes, and prayed for God’s will—His perfect will. What an unnecessary road of angst I had traveled just to get to the place where I should have started to begin with. I fell asleep that night resting in the safety of a loving, all-knowing, all-powerful God who promises His best to those who leave the choice with Him.

And hallelujah for that.