20 Bible Verses About Doing Your Best

Colossians 3:23-24

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Reflection: Paul wrote this to slaves in the Colossian church. The verse before tells them to obey their earthly masters “not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.” Wholehearted work here is the same work whether anyone is watching or not, since the one being served is “the Lord Christ.” The parallel passage in Ephesians 6:5-8 adds that the Lord will reward whatever good each one does, “whether they are slave or free.”

1 Corinthians 10:31

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Reflection: The “whatever you do” closes a long answer about food offered to idols. Paul has just told the Corinthians they may eat meat from the market without raising questions of conscience, but should refuse it when someone points out that it was offered in sacrifice, for that person’s sake (10:25-29). The next verse adds “Do not cause anyone to stumble,” and Paul describes himself as “not seeking my own good but the good of many” (10:33).

Ecclesiastes 9:10

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”

Reflection: The Teacher places this command among others about enjoying ordinary life: eat your food with gladness, drink your wine with a joyful heart, enjoy life with your wife (9:7-9). The reason he gives is death: in “the realm of the dead, where you are going,” there is no working or planning left to do.

Proverbs 22:29

“Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.”

Reflection: The proverb describes where skill leads: a person skilled in their work “will serve before kings” instead of before officials of low rank. The reward it names is still a place of service, now in the royal court.

Proverbs 13:4

“A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.”

Reflection: Both people in the proverb want things. The sluggard’s appetite “is never filled,” while “the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” The difference the proverb draws between them is diligence.

Proverbs 21:5

“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”

Reflection: Here diligence is set against haste. The plans of the diligent lead to profit, and hurrying leads to poverty just as surely. In this proverb, doing a thing well means planning it instead of rushing it.

2 Timothy 2:15

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

Reflection: Paul’s instruction follows a warning against “quarreling about words,” which is “of no value, and only ruins those who listen” (2:14). The approval Timothy is to seek is God’s, and the work in view is teaching: he is to be a worker “who correctly handles the word of truth.” Getting the message right, instead of winning arguments about words, is the standard Paul sets.

Matthew 25:21

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”

Reflection: Jesus tells a parable about a master who entrusts bags of gold to three servants, “each according to his ability” (25:15). The servant given five bags gains five more and hears these words. The servant given two gains two more and hears the same words in 25:23. Both are praised as “faithful with a few things”; the third servant, who dug a hole and hid his master’s money (25:18), is not.

1 Peter 4:10-11

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”

Reflection: Peter writes that “the end of all things is near” (4:7) and follows it with practical instructions: love each other, offer hospitality without grumbling, and use your gifts. The gifts are called God’s grace “in its various forms,” and those who use them are “faithful stewards.” Service is to be done with the strength God supplies, and the purpose is stated: “so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”

Titus 2:7-8

“In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned.”

Reflection: Paul tells Titus to encourage the young men to be self-controlled (2:6) and then to be the example himself, “in everything.” His teaching is to show integrity and seriousness, and the rest of verse 8 gives the reason: “so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.”

2 Peter 1:5-7

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.”

Reflection: “For this very reason” points back to verses 3 and 4: God’s “divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life.” The effort follows the gift, and it builds a chain from faith to love, each quality added to the one before. Verse 8 says these qualities keep a believer from being “ineffective and unproductive,” and verse 10 repeats the call: “make every effort to confirm your calling and election.”

Galatians 6:9

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Reflection: The verse sits inside Paul’s picture of sowing and reaping: “A man reaps what he sows” (6:7), and whoever sows to please the Spirit will reap eternal life. The harvest comes “at the proper time,” which the verse does not name, and it depends on not giving up. Verse 10 turns this into an instruction: “as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

1 Corinthians 9:24-25

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

Reflection: Paul draws on athletes who compete in “the games” and go into strict training for “a crown that will not last.” The Christian’s crown, he says, “will last forever.” In verse 27 he applies the training to himself: he strikes a blow to his body so that after preaching to others he will not “be disqualified for the prize.”

1 Corinthians 15:58

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Reflection: This is the closing verse of Paul’s chapter on the resurrection of the dead. Its “therefore” follows directly from “He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:57), so the call to “give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord” rests on the chapter’s argument that the dead will be raised.

Hebrews 12:1-2

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Reflection: The “cloud of witnesses” are the men and women of faith listed in Hebrews 11. The race is “marked out for us,” and it is run with perseverance by throwing off “everything that hinders.” Jesus is the one the runner watches: “For the joy set before him he endured the cross,” and verse 3 says that considering him keeps believers from growing weary and losing heart.

2 Timothy 4:7

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Reflection: Paul writes expecting to die soon: “I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near” (4:6). He sums up his work in three phrases and looks ahead to “the crown of righteousness,” which the Lord will award “not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (4:8). In verse 9 he asks Timothy, “Do your best to come to me quickly.”

Philippians 2:13

“…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

Reflection: The sentence begins in verse 12: “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Verse 13 completes it, so Paul puts the believer’s effort and God’s work in one sentence, and the word “for” gives God’s work as the ground of the effort. Both the willing and the doing, “to will and to act,” are credited to God.

Philippians 4:13

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Reflection: The “all this” refers to what Paul has just described: being content “whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (4:12). He wrote it while thanking the Philippians for their renewed concern for him (4:10). The strength he names is strength to live contentedly with little or with much, a secret he says he “learned.”

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Reflection: Paul pleaded with the Lord three times to take away his “thorn in my flesh” (12:7-8), and this is the answer he records. It says nothing of removing the thorn; it promises grace, and power “made perfect in weakness.” Verse 10 draws the conclusion: “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Isaiah 40:29-31

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Reflection: The promise answers a complaint. Israel has been saying, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God” (40:27), and the prophet replies that the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, “will not grow tired or weary.” Even youths tire and stumble, and the renewed strength is promised to “those who hope in the Lord.”