Good morning. We all have our good days and our days that are not so good. There are days when the best we can do is quite exceptional, for us at least. There are other days when the best we can do is not up to our usual standards. But there is always this constant: whatever the day is like we should always try to do our best.
I saw a picture that accompanied an article about Jim Thorpe. Thorpe was a native American who happened to be the greatest athlete of his era. He was given the opportunity to prove it at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden. Thorpe was considered a favorite in the 5-event pentathlon and an unknown for the 10-event decathlon (this would his first and only effort at the decathlon). But there were prejudices working against him. On the day of the competitions, just before he would give it his all to represent his tribal nation and the USA, someone stole his shoes. How could he compete without proper footwear? He had an idea, searched a nearby garbage bin, and found two shoes. One of them even fit! The other was two sizes too big, but with extra socks he was determined to compete and to do his best. His best was enough to win outright 8 of the 15 Olympic events that make up the pentathlon and decathlon. He won the gold medal for both.
Whether it is our best day or not, whether there may be unplanned obstacles and challenges with which we are forced to deal, we should remember why we try. Consider Colossians 3:23-24
“Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people. You know that you will receive an inheritance as a reward. You serve the Lord Christ.”
We must remember the reason we try hard, the reason we give it our best effort, that it is not for the praise of men or to avoid their ridicule. The reason we give it our best is because in all we do we are serving Him, our Lord Jesus. He is worthy of our best effort, always, no matter what.
Vern