Have there been moments in your life where you said, “But I did my best?” Times when you gave it your all and felt that you deserved the best, yet you still were not good enough? As much as we would love life to always go our way, the world does not revolve only around us. Life is never fair and that alone has always been hard for me to understand.

I recently participated in a writing competition where the winner would win a prize of money. I was sure my essay was amazing and would be the winning paper. I soon found out that I was not chosen as the winner and that someone else was chosen. I was shocked and to admit, I was dismayed with the results. I believed that I did my best and thought I deserved to at least be chosen as the top 3. Out of curiosity, I decided to read one of the winning papers and I felt touched by his story. From there I knew God was telling me, just because I did my best does not mean I deserve it more than others. I do not know what God’s plan was, but I am sure that God knew that the other man who wrote that essay needed to win the competition more than I did.

Your best does not always mean you deserve the best. God knows more than we do, so trust that God knows what he is doing. Isaiah 25:1 says, “Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.” God’s faithfulness for us is perfect and he never makes mistakes. Even if you did your best and failed, trust God that it is not the end. God has already planned wonderful things for you long ago, even before you experienced the failures in your life. God has already planned something great for you before you were even born.

Ask God to help you see past the failures you experience, and to focus on him. I recently read a blog and it was a great reminder for all of us. It said, “We may be left out by others, but we are never forgotten by God.” God still remembers you, and most importantly, he loves you. Because God loves you, he will never leave you at your failure. He knows your failures and he knows you did your best, but trust in him that he is planning something better for you in his time.

During your down times, be still and know that God still has something planned for you and he is fighting for you to get there. Exodus 14:14 says, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” The verse does not say maybe the lord will fight for you, or that in this circumstance he will fight for you; it says he will fight for you. This means that in any circumstance you face,  he will fight for you. The only thing that we are called to do is to be still with courage and trust in him. Trust God that he is in control and keep doing your best.

Jesus has already died on the cross for you. He has already given you his all, so why would he not follow through by helping you during your troubled times? When God starts something, he always finishes it. No where in the bible has there been a time when God started something and did not finish it.

Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God has already planned great things for you even before you were born, and he plans to carry this great plan throughout your life until the very end when Jesus comes. Be confident of Christ in you!

Even if you did your best and failed, do not think that you best was not good enough. Your best was what God wanted, but it was just not his perfect timing for you. With God it is never the end, and if it is the end it will always be a great ending. So if things are not going great for you, believe in his great plan for you and look onto that. So remember, your best is always enough.