Stop Trying—Receive Your Real IdentitySample

Day 2—Trying Hard

Have you ever grown exhausted from the sheer effort life demands? Are you tired of feeling like you are failing more than succeeding? Trying is tiring! And yet, from the moment we are self-aware, we begin trying to establish an identity—who we think we are, who we want to be, or who others say we must be. This is our deepest sense of self, and we work daily to construct or maintain it. A strong identity, by the world’s standards, requires arduous effort—pressing us daily to try harder to become a better version of ourselves. 

In this quest, it never occurs to us that trying subconsciously burdens us with a growing sense of anxiety and fear. 

Anxiety asks: “Am I accomplishing enough? Am I living up to my potential or to others expectations? Is God happy with me? Am I on the right track toward fulfilling success?” 

Fear also grows: “What if I fail? What if something bad happens? What if my plans or dreams don’t work out? What if I lose what I’ve finally achieved—like a job or a relationship? Who am I if my trying falls short?

Peter, in Luke 22, is a powerful example of someone trying hard to live up to his own ideals. He was determined not to fail Jesus. But He got it wrong. Peter was trying to save Jesus, but Jesus came to save Peter. To experience this reversed reality, Peter had to come to the end of trying—by failing or losing. God’s best plans for us actually begin when our sense of strength melts into weakness.

Jesus understands that your trying will only come to exhaustion and disappointment. Keep following Him, because He plans to use your loss to deeply redefine you—by His grace, not by your hard work. He wants to set you free from the fear and anxiety that’s built into trying hard.