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Health Devotional
Doing Your Best, Leaving God the Rest
Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done, and won’t need to compare himself with someone else. . . . And let us not get tired of doing what is right. Gal. 6:4-9, TLB.
I’ve lived my life with a new goal every morning: to get up and do my best, and leave the rest to God. It’s helped me live a very satisfying and fulfilled life.
A lot of things happen to us that aren’t fair. It’s easy to get caught up in feelings of self-pity, bitterness, and revenge. But I’ve learned if we just keep doing what we’ve got to do to the best of our ability, God works things out much better than you or I could.
I saw this happen when I was in military service. I made my first stripe and became private first class four months after I went into the Army. As it turned out, because of my Medical Cadet Corps, first-aid, and lab training, I had more experience than anyone else in my platoon, so they put me in charge.
When I got my first lab assignment, I worked to learn all I could and was put in charge of training others. About two months later I had a terrible stomachache and was nauseated. By Monday my white blood count was 14,000, and I ended up having my appendix out. Wednesday my fever went up; I became delirious and broke out with measles. After three weeks, when I got back to work, they had changed lab officers and given promotions to those who were there. One of the guys I had been training had been made corporal. “Hey,” my friends complained, “Martin ought to get that rating!” But that’s the way life is. Sometimes, because of circumstances beyond your control, others get the rewards you deserve.
Late one night I was working emergency, down on my knees scrubbing the floor with a brush, when the surgeon in charge of the hospital came in with some labwork. When I handed him the results, he asked, “Martin, what rank are you?”
“Buck sergeant, sir.” I was soon promoted to staff sergeant. The other fellow who was already staff sergeant didn’t get a raise.
I’ve learned that if you are just faithful in your work, doing your best, determining to learn all you can, and giving more to the job than required, God works things out.
Are you giving your best to your work, to your family, and to your God?
I’ve lived my life with a new goal every morning: to get up and do my best, and leave the rest to God. It’s helped me live a very satisfying and fulfilled life.
A lot of things happen to us that aren’t fair. It’s easy to get caught up in feelings of self-pity, bitterness, and revenge. But I’ve learned if we just keep doing what we’ve got to do to the best of our ability, God works things out much better than you or I could.
I saw this happen when I was in military service. I made my first stripe and became private first class four months after I went into the Army. As it turned out, because of my Medical Cadet Corps, first-aid, and lab training, I had more experience than anyone else in my platoon, so they put me in charge.
When I got my first lab assignment, I worked to learn all I could and was put in charge of training others. About two months later I had a terrible stomachache and was nauseated. By Monday my white blood count was 14,000, and I ended up having my appendix out. Wednesday my fever went up; I became delirious and broke out with measles. After three weeks, when I got back to work, they had changed lab officers and given promotions to those who were there. One of the guys I had been training had been made corporal. “Hey,” my friends complained, “Martin ought to get that rating!” But that’s the way life is. Sometimes, because of circumstances beyond your control, others get the rewards you deserve.
Late one night I was working emergency, down on my knees scrubbing the floor with a brush, when the surgeon in charge of the hospital came in with some labwork. When I handed him the results, he asked, “Martin, what rank are you?”
“Buck sergeant, sir.” I was soon promoted to staff sergeant. The other fellow who was already staff sergeant didn’t get a raise.
I’ve learned that if you are just faithful in your work, doing your best, determining to learn all you can, and giving more to the job than required, God works things out.
Are you giving your best to your work, to your family, and to your God?
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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