We’re now two weeks into the new year. Already I’m exhausted. And annoyed. Everywhere I turn someone is promising me that I could (and should) look better and feel better. I should be further along in my career and my relationships could use some work. Not to mention, am I exercising enough? Eating enough protein? Getting enough sleep? I mean, who can sleep when there’s so much self-improvement to do? And yet, all the commercials and courses promise me more happiness and more success if I buy this and do that.

Ultimately, behind all the marketing lingo and promises of improvement sits an irritating (and terrifying) message: Who you are and the life you’re currently living isn’t enough, Michele. You need to do more, be more. 

The problem? This “not enough” message isn’t a hard sell. Many days I’d agree. The tension between what I long for and what is feels a lot like disappointment. Solomon said it well in Ecclesiastes:

“When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes 2:11 NIV

They say that the book of Ecclesiastes is a book for midlife crises; perhaps that isn’t far off. For the record, I’m not in a crisis, but I am certainly in mid-life. And I’ve discovered there is a unique perspective in this season that is as sobering as it is freeing. You see, I’m learning there are never enough hours in a day to get my to-do list done. No amount of exercise will guard me against getting older. No amount of dieting will finally produce a perfect body. No book on relationships will guarantee a marriage without conflict or photograph-worthy relationships with adult kids. No amount of working and saving will boost my bank account enough to buy my way out of a health crisis.

In fact, I suspect I could do everything right and still end up with a life that looks entirely wrong.

Whew. What a bunch of bad news, yes? What in the world are we to do with this hard truth? Quit exercising, working, eating healthy, and growing in relationships? If no amount of bootstrapping effort can produce guaranteed results, why bother trying? Sounds like a mid-life crisis in the making.

And yet, Solomon provides the secret, the wisdom he learned even while navigating a sobering mid-life perspective:

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV

The secret to Solomon’s wisdom (and an overachiever’s peace) isn’t working harder or working less. It’s about trusting “what God has done” more.

You see, if we want a guaranteed, beautiful result, we need to tie ourselves and our plans to the God of eternity. We need to relinquish our hold on our earthly destinies and grab hold of the One who holds the cosmos in His hands. To do this, I regularly remind myself of the following truths:

1. Life (and people) on this side of heaven will never look like heaven. Don’t expect it to.
2. Hard work matters. But it’s less about getting certain results and more about offering up honest worship.
3. “To live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). Care for the body is about stewardship, not self-worship.
4. Three of Jesus’ last words on the cross were, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Believe Him. The most important work has already been done.

Who I am and the life I’m living doesn’t look anything like what I imagined. That is true. No course, curriculum, or marketing campaign can deliver what I need and want most. But my God can. And He will. He will make everything beautiful in its time. I believe this. Thus, I choose to stop putting so much weight on my efforts and, instead, trust in His.

 

Listen to Michele’s devotion below or on the (in)courage podcast wherever you stream!

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