Do Your Best and Give God the Rest

If you had to sum up your life philosophy in one sentence, what would it be?

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Without hesitation, my answer would be:

Do your best and give God the rest.

Years ago, I volunteered with the Pat Porter Active Living Centre. One of my favourite volunteer opportunities was helping with the Meals on Wheels program. I would drive, and a lovely older lady named Agnes would hand-deliver the meals. During our time together, we would often talk about life, faith, and God. It was during one of those conversations that she shared a simple piece of wisdom that has stayed with me ever since:  

“Do your best and give God the rest.”

At the time, it sounded almost too simple.

But the older I get, the more profound those words become.

Because when you really think about it, isn’t that all we can ever do?

We do our best.

And then we trust God with everything else.

The Illusion of Control

Most of my younger years were spent consumed by anxiety.

I worried about everything.

What people thought of me.

Whether I was making the right decisions.

Whether things would work out.

Whether people liked me.

Whether I was enough.

Looking back, it’s almost funny.

Not because anxiety is funny. It isn’t.

But because I spent so much time worrying about what I thought other people were thinking.

The truth?

I had no idea.

And neither did they.

As human beings, we spend an incredible amount of energy trying to control things we never had the power to control in the first place.

Life rarely unfolds according to our carefully crafted plans.

Dreams change.

Relationships change.

Circumstances change.

Our bodies change.

Our perspectives change.

Even our memories change.

And that’s a sobering thought.

What Do We Really Know?

Years ago, I remember reading something my cousin Miguel wrote.

The idea stuck with me.

He said knowledge is little more than memories of what we’ve learned from others.

Passed-down knowledge.

Retained information.

Collected experiences.

The thought fascinated me.

The more I thought about it, the more I remembered a game we played in school.

The telephone game.

One person would whisper a message.

That message would travel down a line of people.

And by the time it reached the end, it hardly resembled the original.

Every time.

Without fail.

Somewhere along the way, something changed.

A word.

A meaning.

An interpretation.

A memory.

And isn’t that a picture of humanity?

We all see things differently.

Remember things differently.

Interpret things differently.

Even when we’re convinced we’re right.

The One Constant

Yet through all of that uncertainty, I have discovered one thing that never changes.

God.

Not my circumstances.

Not my health.

Not my emotions.

Not my plans.

Not even my understanding.

God.

Scripture tells us:

“For I am the Lord, I do not change.”

— Malachi 3:6 (NKJV)

That verse brings me immense comfort.

Everything in creation changes.

Seasons change.

Weather changes.

Relationships change.

Moods change.

Bodies change.

DNA changes.

Entire civilizations rise and fall.

But God remains exactly who He has always been.

Reliable.

Faithful.

Dependable.

True.

He has been the only constant throughout my life.

And for someone who has spent much of her life battling anxiety, that certainty is priceless.

The Day Love Became a Person

One of the most life-changing moments of my faith journey came when I first truly understood these words:

“God is love.”

— 1 John 4:8 (NKJV)

I remember stopping and thinking about that statement.

Not that God is loving.

Not that God teaches love.

Not that God appreciates love.

God is love.

That changed everything for me.

Before then, I thought love was simply an emotion between people.

Something you felt.

Something you gave.

Something you received.

But love wasn’t merely a feeling.

Love was a Person.

Love had a name.

Love had entered history.

Love had stretched out His hands on a cross.

Love had pursued me my entire life.

That realization became one of those rare moments when things started to make sense.

Not instantly.

Not all at once.

But gradually.

Like dawn breaking after a long night.

Doing Our Best

I’ve lived with Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy since I was five years old.

I’ve faced challenges I never would have chosen.

Heart failure.

An ICD.

A stroke.

Disability.

Loss.

Separation.

Restoration.

Grief.

Joy.

Some seasons have stretched me beyond what I thought I could bear.

Yet through every season, I’ve come back to Agnes’s simple wisdom.

Do your best.

Give God the rest.

Because that’s all any of us can really do.

We can choose faithfulness.

We can choose kindness.

We can choose courage.

We can choose obedience.

We can choose love.

But outcomes?

Those belong to God.

Why I’m Sharing This

So why share any of this?

Because it’s worth sharing.

This world is hurting.

People are exhausted.

Anxious.

Lonely.

Afraid.

Searching.

And if something I’ve learned can help someone else carry their burden a little lighter, then sharing it is worthwhile.

I don’t have all the answers.

Far from it.

But I know the One who does.

My hope is that, through my writing, people might catch a glimpse of His light.

Because Jesus is still who He has always been.

Truth.

Life.

Love.

And after everything I’ve been through, I can honestly say that my life philosophy remains beautifully simple:

Do your best and give God the rest.

And honestly?

I can’t think of a better way to live.

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About the Author

✞ Heir of God | Wife ♡ Mother | Author ⟡ Publisher ✞ — Jade Weedmark is a Christian author, publisher, and the founder of FaithfulAdvantage.ca and Faithful Advantage Publishing. Living with Emery‑Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy, she writes about Jesus, faith, resilience, and the hope found even in life’s most difficult seasons. Through personal stories and biblical encouragement, Jade seeks to help others take their next faithful step forward.

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