Did I Do My Best? Part One

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might….” Ecclesiastes 9:10  

God does not expect you to be the best at anything. He does expect you to be your best at everything.                    

When the young Naval Academy graduate Jimmy Carter was leaving an interview with Admiral Rickover the Admiral asked him, “While at the Naval Academy did you do your best?” When I preached his Inaugural Sermon one hour before he took the oath of office as President I reminded him of that. We all need to remind ourselves of that question. Did I do my best?

Consider these questions and ask them of yourself daily.

        Did I do my best to please the Lord?

        Did I do my best at showing interest in the welfare of others?

        Did I do my best to be content and fulfilled?

        Did I do my best to show appreciation?

        Did I do my best to find solutions to the problems I faced?

        Did I do my best to set clear goals and strive to meet them?

        Did I do my best to gain the Lord’s “Well done”?

        Did I do my best to do unto others as I would have them do unto me?

As you seek answers to those questions remember… 

What got you here won’t get you there. Things have changed and that energy has been spent. That being true, what will get you there?

The good thing about beginning these questions with “Did I do my best to…” is that it is almost impossible to blame someone else for my failure.  No one can be responsible for “Did I do my best to…” but me!

“…let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.” (Galatians 6:4)

In doing so you will have doubts. Elizabeth Elliot said, “Faith does not eliminate doubts, it just knows where to take them.”

You will encounter hellish obstacles. Sir Winston Churchill said, “If you are going through hell, keep going.” Good council. Expect problems and you won’t be caught off guard. 

At the end of the day you will leave footprints. Make sure they will be where they should have been. At the end of the day, remind yourself that you did the best you could, and that is good enough.

Say your prayers, do what you can, and you will have done your best.

At the end of the day just before you slip into unconsciousness your still small voice may ask, “Did you do your best?” May your answer be an emphatic yes. This way you can never feel negative about yourself.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2: 15