Abundant GraceSample

GIVE GOD YOUR BEST

New skills are, for me, often daunting (just check my honey-do list). I get nervous about learning something new, and inevitably doubt creeps in. From there, the thought "what if I’m not good enough" often hinders success. Sometimes I’ll delay a project just because it feels uncomfortable or out of my league (and by delay, I’m talking years!).

The good news of God’s grace is that it doesn’t have to be within our ability to earn or achieve. Restoration comes through His faithfulness as the fulfillment of His promise. The joy that comes from such rich restoration is best experienced when our lives reflect His good and when we set our hearts in obedience to Him.

In Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles, we see the beauty of God’s promise. Even while living under foreign rule in a foreign land, God promised Israel a “hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). God was not done yet, and He would reveal His grace even in the middle of divine discipline. Although God sent Israel to a foreign land, He did not give them over to foreign rules. He did not expect perfection, but He did ask for their hearts. The beautiful reminder for the exiles was that God was going with them, and the more they committed themselves to Him, the more of Him they would find.

In many ways, we share a similar situation (spiritually speaking) as exiles in a foreign land. Often, we feel held back by what we can achieve on our own. With so much wrong in the world, how could we ever hope to make a difference? And if our efforts can’t make an impact, what is even the point? But more than your actions, more than the good you can create, God is after your heart. Our first step is to surrender, and from there we can join gladly in His work—no fear or doubt attached.

So give Him your best, confident that He is greater than any of your flaws, and that He is faithful despite any of your failures.

What is something you are holding on to that you need to surrender to God? What is holding you back from giving Him your best?