Have you ever felt like you should be doing more?
My best friend and I were talking about this the other day—how real that feeling is and how it’s shown up in different seasons of our lives.
For me, it really started in my late teens. I was jumping into the firefighter career path, right after 9/11, when that profession was on fire (no pun intended). It was the dream job for anyone who wanted to stay active, serve their community, and earn a respected position. But wanting it wasn’t enough. The competition was fierce, and if your résumé wasn’t stacked, you didn’t stand a chance.
I still remember sitting for my first written exam at a huge convention center, looking around at thousands of other people all testing for fewer than 20 openings. I’d never experienced anything like that before. The pressure to outwork the next person was overwhelming. Sure, I’d done plenty of tryouts growing up—sports teams, school activities, plays—but this felt different. This was a career. A future. And getting that “golden ticket” into the fire academy became an obsession—not just for me, but for a group of my friends who were all chasing the
same goal.
It felt like we were always in motion—everything revolving around landing a job in the department.
Go, go, go.
Do more.
Don’t fall behind.
If someone signed up for an extra class, you felt like you had to do the same.
If someone added a new certification, you started looking for two.
Our running joke—or jab—back then was, “Stop being a slacker!” But honestly? It wasn’t really a joke.
The dream job was landed, but that feeling didn’t go away. It followed me into other areas of life—different career paths, relationships, my health, finances—but most of all, my walk with Christ.
It wasn’t so much about competition anymore. It was this constant, nagging feeling that I needed to do more. And then more. And then more.
Had I read enough Scripture?
Had I prayed enough?
Had I worshiped enough?
Had I shared the gospel enough with that unbelieving friend?
But the truth is, God's Word is really clear—it's never been about what I can do. It's always been about what Jesus already did.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
So no matter how many extra prayers I pray or people I help, it doesn’t make God love me more. And on the flip side, when I fall short (which I do, often), He doesn’t love me any less.
In fact,
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1
God doesn’t look at me and see my failures or my striving. He sees Jesus. The work He did on the cross. The price He paid.
A bedrock truth the believer can take rest in.
Because
“All things were created through him and for him... and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:16-17
It’s all about Him.
It’s always been about Him.
And it always will be. Period.
The truth is, Satan—and honestly, my own flesh—want so badly to spin it all back onto me.
What I can do.
What I haven't done.
What I need to be doing more of.
Anything to shift my focus off of Jesus and onto myself.
But Satan is the father of lies.
“When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
And at the root of it all—whether it’s Satan’s schemes or my own self-centered striving—is pride. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
Don’t buy the lies.
Don’t get caught in that trap that so easily entangles us.
Instead,
“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2
Fix your eyes back on Christ—who He is, what He’s already done, and the freedom we have because of Him.
But don’t get me wrong—this isn’t an invitation to laziness in our walk with Christ.
Jesus absolutely calls us to action. He calls us to live with urgency and to be intentional.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
There’s a fine line between resting in Christ and neglecting the work He’s called us to.
But the difference is dependence.
Because when pride creeps back in—even into our “good works”—it twists the focus right back onto me.
And that’s not why we’re here.
We live, we serve, we move forward to the upward calling in Christ Jesus.
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14
For His glory,
By His strength,
And because He alone is worthy.
Because in the end, it’s always been about Jesus.
It always will be.
Written By: Lee Miles
