All You Can Do

 

 

They were the best laid plans

But they came to naught

And I was still led to believe

That it was all my fault.

 

If it were only once

That would have been fine

But I sat down and planned again

And I stuck to the line.

 

I carefully planned my work

And diligently worked my plan

Yet the same result as before;

It was as if I were damned.

 

But I refused to give up

And steadfastly held my grip,

I went back to the drawing board

And I refused to be licked.

 

I tried different approaches

And when I was tempted to give up

I determined in my mind

Failure was not my cup.

 

Then it hit me between the eyes

Like a ton of bricks

And I decided there and then

There is no way I could quit.

Quitting was not an option

It struck me like a lightning bolt:

“All you can do is do all you can do”

And this revived my hope.

 

All you can do is do all you can do

You surely can do no more,

Steel yourself each time you fail

And press on like before.

 

Be diligent and be vigilant

And stare your failure in the face

Then do all you can do with all you have

Trusting God’s unlimited grace.

 

When you have done all to stand

Just simply stand!

For all you can do is do all you can do

And put the rest in God’s hand.

 

Stewart Russell © December 4, 2021