How to do Your Best for God
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”
Romans 5:1
Do you ever have those days when you feel like you’re not good enough? You can’t quite put your finger on it, but there is a presence of lack, dread, and weakness–even as a Christian?
You are not alone! Those days try to sneak up on me as well; and to be honest with you, it’s not a “day” that is sneaking up on us, but our enemy. He wants us to believe that no matter what we do, it’s never good enough. The devil torments Christians each and every day, not just unbelievers. How? Through legalism. Through our mindset of, “I have to do more! If I don’t then God won’t love me! I won’t be good enough!”
Let me tell you a secret: You are good enough, because of your faith in Jesus as your Savior, right now, this very second–and nothing can change this! Because of this fact, even if you never do another thing for God, you are good to go! I need to repeat that because it’s hard to believe!
So let’s say it again, and I want you to consciously do your best to believe it as the truth, because it is:
“Even if I never do another thing for God, I’m good!” And I need to reiterate, that is, if you’ve placed your faith in Jesus.
You see, as humans, we are all “works based” in our thinking. If we do this, we get that. However, it doesn’t work this way with our Creator. He’s different. It’s so hard for us to grasp that everything we have from God is all free by grace through faith in what Jesus has already accomplished for us! (See Ephesians 2:8-9).
So let’s say it again, and this time, exhale. Allow yourself to deflate a little. Here we go:
“Even if I never do another thing for God, I’m good.”
Again.
“EVEN IF I NEVER DO ANOTHER THING FOR GOD, I’M GOOD.”
If you have a religious spirit that normally pesters you, it’s probably going bat-crap crazy at this point. But let’s do it one more time just to tick him off…
“EVEN IF I NEVER DO ANOTHER THING FOR GOD, I’M GOOOOOOOOOOD! I HAVEN’T EARNED ANYTHING AND ALL I HAVE HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME FOR FREE! THANK YOU, JESUS!!! WHAT A WONDERFUL GIFT!!!!”
My friend, this is the truth; and it is the truth about your identity in Christ’s work alone that gives you the freedom you need (see John 8:32). Once you get this down pat, deep in your soul, all of the pressure gets taken off of you and placed on Jesus–where it belongs.
Once you realize you’ve been freely justified, and all you have is free, you’ll always want to do your very best! You’ll always want to do as much as you possibly can! You will strive–as you rest in grace–for more and more things to do for God! You’ll finally begin to do the best you can because you are already the best you can possibly be!
C’MON SOMEBODY! This is some back-flippin’, knee-slappin’, brother-huggin’ sweet news! That’s why it’s called THE GOOD NEWS! That’s what “the gospel” means! GOOD! NEWS!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!! I could get up right now and run a circle around my house!
SO! Because of this great news, you’ll do so much more with your life for God. Why? Because you don’t have to! This is called a relationship–NOT RELIGION. This is what God is longing for from you. He wants you to want to do stuff for Him because you love Him–because He loves you unconditionally through Christ. Truth be told, you already want exactly what God wants, even if you don’t know that (see Romans 6:17, Hebrews 10:16, 1 Corinthians 2:16).
Here are four things that will help you do your very best for God, because you are the best of God. You’re His child:
- Ask God to use you however He sees fit. This is a very important step to unlocking your God-given destiny. There are many Christians who go to their graves with unfinished work for God here on earth. Don’t be that person! Simply say, “God, use me no matter what. I’m not ready, but I know you’re with me.” Then prepare yourself because He will! Again, there’s no pressure on you, but there is stuff to do!
- Study Jesus for yourself. You will never be able to understand Christ’s character on the deepest levels if you are simply living off of second-hand faith. You must get to know Him for yourself! I fell into this trap–the trap of blindly believing others–and for years I had the wrong impression of Jesus. Thankfully, His Spirit in me kept leading me into the truth, and His Word backed it up.
- Beware of the religious Christians. There’s not many other things that can zap your confidence in who you are in Christ, quite like the religious Christians. They are cold, harsh, and they have a condition-based love. They are sin-focused and not grace-centered. They categorize sins from “bad to worse” while completely ignoring that they too, have sin in their own lives which they belittle. They will try to convince you that you’re not as good as them and that their church work, church attendance, and Scripture memorization has earned them more favor with God. They will want you to fall in line behind them, and if you don’t, “you’re not really saved.” They act meaner than most non-believers and will try to make you feel like a beat dog. IGNORE THIS. Have your mind made up ahead of time to ask God to bless these Christians who’ve obviously forgotten who they are. Remember these three words: pause, pray, proceed. Don’t attack, and don’t believe their lies. Show grace.
- Be aware of the spiritual world. In order to do your best for God, I need you to realize that you are a spirit, not just a body. This is why Paul said, “Fix your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (see Colossians 3:2). This means be aware of your spiritual surroundings. Since the creation of this universe a war has been raging in the spiritual realm. Heaven and hell are fighting and we are in the middle of it. God wants your spirit in heaven and Satan wants your spirit in hell. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spirits” (see Ephesians 6:12). Evil spirits from hell (and no other place) influence people in their minds. The devil and his little marching morons are always trying to not just influence us, but also discourage us! They are as real as gravity! It’s their purpose to try to make us hate others, refuse to forgive, hold grudges, be ultra-critical, be envious, hate our neighbor, gossip about people, be addicted, constantly be lustful, and many other diabolical things. So pay attention and recognize you’re at war spiritually! But–Christ is in you so you never have to be afraid! He’s always strengthening you and protecting you! Most of the time, He’s strangling out a demon or a sickness, or even when death is trying to get at you–He’s stopping it!
So today, my friends, know this: There are many more things God will teach you through the Holy Spirit, techniques and methods which will help you do your best for Him! But mostly, if you’ll just remember that because of Jesus you are already the best you possibly can be, you’ll begin to do great and mighty things!
A prayer for you: Heavenly Father, thank you for this day! Thank you for waking me up, and for the air in my lungs. Thank you for my life! What a gift it is to be able to live through you again today! Right now, I lift up all who are reading this, directly to you. For those who have been beat down by religious works or the guilt from complacency, HELP THEM BEGIN TO EXUDE YOUR STRENGTH! Begin to teach them who they really are in Christ! I rebuke any religious spirit that is tormenting them, BE GONE, YOU IDIOT! YOU HAVE NO POWER! IN THE NAME OF JESUS, GIVE THEM CONFIDENCE! You created us to BE confident, in you, so show us how! And please, lead us, guide us, and protect us along the way. Help us to do our best each day as we already know we ARE the best, because of Jesus. Amen!
This devotional is from 60 Days for Jesus, Volume 2. Get your copy here!