If you want to sustain a high-performance lifestyle, you must answer 1 critical question:

When can you say that you’re doing good enough?

I’m not talking about salvation here. You and I both know we’re saved by faith, and that we’re going to heaven. It’s not about buying your way into heaven with good works.

What I’m asking is, when can you know that the quality of what you’re building is good enough?

“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.” 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

As an ambitious, high-performance ministry leader, you won’t rest until you’ve done a good job. That’s why we must set a standard for good enough – so you can find the peace inside yourself to STOP.

Let’s first understand realistically what you can do and what you can’t do.

You can’t do more than you can do.

The phrase “doing more than you can do” is a logical contradiction.

Repeatedly attempting to do more than you are able is by definition insane.

(Insanity is the refusal or inability to accurately perceive reality – causing irrational action. This is why Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.“)

As a ministry leader, your dream is to reach the WHOLE WORLD – but reality demands that you sleep, eat, and rest.

You may get away with exceeding your natural limits today, but you will pay for it later, guaranteed.

More importantly:

God does NOT expect you to do more than you can do.

Jesus lived a perfect life and paid for our sins because He didn’t expect us to do more than we could. He knew that no matter what we did, we couldn’t meet God’s standard and save ourselves from sin.

God humbled himself and took on the form of human flesh (Philippians 2:5-8), because He knew we couldn’t go to Him in the spirit.

So when are you doing good enough? What’s the new standard?

You are doing good enough when you are doing your best.

The New Testament tells believers to try their best to live in a Godly way once they know Christ. When we make mistakes, God’s grace covers it.

Romans 6:1 adds,

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”

God’s grace covers your sin, but it’s not an excuse to sin more.

The same is true with your good works. As long as you’re doing your best, God’s grace will cover everything else. Don’t use His grace as an excuse for laziness, but don’t burn yourself out chasing an unrealistic expectation, either.

You are doing good enough when you are doing your best.

So let’s start learning how to know when we are doing our best because it’s harder than it sounds.

You are operating at 100% efficiency when you use all 10 of the resources you have access to TODAY.

Thoughts and feelings that tell you that you NEED to push past your limits only come from two places:

Your Flesh: Your flesh is inclined to doubt that God will provide everything that will be needed for tomorrow, tomorrow. This fear of scarcity may be the result of poor planning the the past. You may also have made too many promises and commitments that have become a huge drain on your resources.

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:28-34

The Enemy: The enemy wants you to burn out more than anything. He doesn’t need to convince you to pull all-nighters to get you to burn out. All he has to do is to get you to push past your limits just a little, over a long enough period of time. And the devil literally has all the time in the world to help you get to the point of burnout.

Any message that tells you that you must do more than you can do – that you need to go past your limits, even “just this once”, IS TOXIC.

Commit the new standard to heart:

Salvation: YOU are good enough because Jesus makes you good enough.

Works: You are DOING good enough when you are doing your best.

If you are genuinely doing your best – you’ll never HAVE to push past your limits. God’s grace will cover your shortcomings.

“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.”
2 Corinthians 12:9