Do Your Best

Have you ever heard the saying, “God helps those who help themselves”? You’d be surprised how many people think this phrase is an actual Bible verse. You may have even read the preceding sentence just now and said, “Wait, it’s not?” To my knowledge and based on the research I did to write this piece, the answer is no.

My pastor gave an excellent sermon on faith last week, and it got me thinking about the complexities we face as Christians. I do firmly believe God wants us to try our best. Having faith doesn’t give us an excuse to lazily sit back and rely on God to take care of everything. I know this sounds borderline blasphemous (I certainly don’t mean to put a cap on the miracles God works each and every day), but let me give you an example of what I mean.

Let’s say you lost your job. It was through no fault of your own – the economy was in a bad place and the company you worked for had to make a tough decision. I’d argue the proper way to handle the situation would be to first pray for God to guide you toward the future employer he has in mind for you and your abilities. The wrong way to have faith in this situation would be to do this and then sit around waiting and wishing for a job to fall into your lap. “Helping yourself” would consist of revising your resume, editing your cover letter, updating your LinkedIn profile, and applying like mad to anything that fits your experience level. In other words, do everything in your power to set yourself up for success, and then consistently pray for guidance and intercedence during the process.

I wrote about my personal experience with job hunting not too long ago. Long story short, I was in the running for a job I really wanted, only to be told after five interviews someone else had gotten the position. While it hurt immensely and I allowed myself some time to be angry and upset, I didn’t let that stop me from applying elsewhere with the faith that God had the right job waiting for me, He'd lead me to it, and it would all work out for His glory (spoiler alert: an even better job came around and I’m so incredibly happy with where God has put me).

Just because we are Christians, it doesn’t mean God will give us whatever we want without a little elbow grease. It’s said in Hebrews 11:1 that, “…faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” We can have faith God will lead us in the way we should go. We can have faith the job He has planned for us will materialize at the right time (His time, not ours). But we should never be of the arrogant mindset that we deserve something “better” than what God has planned for us or that we won’t have to put in some amount of work to get where we are meant to be.

Noah had to build a gigantic ark to save himself and his family from a flood that wiped out the entire population (Genesis 6). Jacob, thinking he only had to work seven years to marry the woman he loved, ended up toiling for fourteen years after being tricked (Genesis 29). David had to step up and fight Goliath before he could be king (1 Samuel). With God, anything is possible; but it is the testing of our faith that produces perseverance and makes us better, stronger people and Christians (James 1:3).

There is no doubt the Lord loves us, but we should not and cannot take advantage of His goodness and grace. After all, there are numerous verses that talk about receiving what we pray for:

• Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7)

• If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer (Matthew 21:22)

• Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours (Mark 11:24)

• Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete (John 16:24)

But praying and asking God for what you desire is not the end-all, be-all. There’s another vital part of the formula that is Biblical (unlike the trite saying that kicked off the beginning of this blog):

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).

The Lord knows when you are in need, tired, and distressed. Mind you, we were never promised an easy life – instead, we are promised struggles (John 16:33). Our faith in His goodness and power combined with the tenacity He’s blessed us with will set us in the way we should go. So, let’s retire the ol’ “God helps those who help themselves” bit. Instead, I leave you with a new pithy phrase: Do your best, and let God take care of the rest.

Note: For further reading on this subject, check out James 2:14-25.