Doing Your Best When Life Is the Worst

Meta Description: When life is hard and people let you down, how do you keep going? 5 lessons from David's life that will help you stay strong without becoming bitter. URL Slug: doing-your-best-when-life-is-the-worst Featured Image: A lone figure standing confidently in a vast, open landscape — facing forward into light — evoking resilience, calling, and forward momentum despite difficult circumstances.

Have you ever worked your hardest, given your best, and still had someone throw a spear at you — literally or figuratively? That's exactly where David found himself, and what he did next changed everything.

This past Sunday, I shared a message from 1 Samuel 16 and 18 that I believe is one of the most practically relevant stories in all of Scripture. It's the story of a young man doing extraordinary work for a leader who repaid him with jealousy, rage, and eventually attempted murder. And yet David never became what Saul was. That's the miracle I want us to sit with.

Excellence in Secret Opens Doors in Public

David didn't end up in Saul's palace by accident. He got there because he had faithfully honed his gift as a harpist out in the fields of Bethlehem, where no one was watching and no one was applauding. When Saul's servants went looking for the best musician in the land, they found David — because David had done the work.

There's a principle here I don't want you to miss. What you do faithfully in secret is what God uses to open doors publicly. The Bible consistently shows us that God looks for faithfulness in small things before entrusting us with greater responsibility. Whatever you're working on right now — your craft, your character, your calling — do it with excellence. You never know what door God is preparing to open.

You Cannot Outlive How You See Things

Once David arrived in the palace, something remarkable happened. He succeeded at everything. He took down Goliath. He led Saul's armies. He earned the respect of the people, the officers, and even the men under his command. The women of Israel sang in the streets: "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands" (1 Samuel 18:7).

And that's when everything changed — for Saul.

Rather than celebrating David's victories as extensions of his own kingdom's success, Saul saw them as threats. From that moment, Scripture says, "Saul kept a jealous eye on David" (1 Samuel 18:9). Jesus once said that if your eye is bad, your whole body will be bad — but if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. Saul's jealous eye poisoned everything he saw.

Here's what I've come to believe: you cannot outlive how you see things. Choose to see only what you lack, and that's all you'll ever find. Choose to look for the blessing, and you'll find more of that, too. You'll always see more of whatever you stare at.

Five Ways to Stay Sane When Life Feels Crazy

So what do we do when we're doing our best and life is the worst? When someone who claims to love us is the very one hurting us? Here are five anchors I shared Sunday that I believe can keep you from becoming bitter.

1. Don't be surprised. Jesus said it plainly in John 15:18: "If the world hates you, just know it hated me before it hated you." People who have given up on their own dreams often resent seeing others live out theirs. Difficulty is almost table stakes for living a God-honoring life. Anticipate it. Don't let it shock you off course.

2. Don't become spiteful. David had spears thrown at him and never threw them back. Why? Because to become like Saul would be to lose the very thing that made David, David. As George Herbert put it, living well is the best revenge. Duck when spears are thrown at you — but don't pull them out of the wall and fire them back.

3. Don't become sour. I'll be honest with you — this one is personal for me. After enough hurts in ministry and in life, I found myself meeting new people while already watching them walk out the door in my imagination. Through counseling, I traced that pattern all the way back to my parents' divorce and the walls I built to protect myself during those formative years. C.S. Lewis said it best: if you stop using your heart, it won't be broken. But it will also become impenetrable and unable to truly love. To love is to be vulnerable. Don't let past wounds become your template for every future relationship.

4. Don't be stupid. Love doesn't mean staying in harm's way. David loved Saul — and also got out of the palace when it became clear Saul wanted him dead. Jesus told us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. You can forgive someone and still draw a firm boundary. You can honor someone and do so from a safe distance. Wisdom and love are not opposites.

5. Don't stop. This is the one I want to close with. Don't stop doing what God blessed in the first place. When the great wall-builder Nehemiah was pressured to abandon his work and come meet with his enemies in a place called Ono, he replied: "Why would I stop the great work I'm doing to come down and talk with you?" He said "Oh, no" to Ono — and you should, too.

It Was Never Between You and Them Anyway

Kent Keith, in his Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership, wrote something that stopped me cold when I first read it:

"Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."

That's David. That's the life we're called to. Keep your eyes on God, not on the people who are trying to derail you. God opens doors no one can shut, and he shuts doors no one can open. Your blessing didn't come from Saul, and Saul can't take it away.

My prayer for you this week is simple: keep going. Keep playing your harp. Keep fighting your battles. Keep doing good — anyway.

Social Media Excerpt (Facebook/Instagram): Have you ever given your best and still had someone throw a spear at you? David did — and he never became what Saul was. This week's message is about how to do your best even when life is the worst, and how to stay whole without becoming bitter. Link in bio to read the full post. 🙌

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