When I first came across William Carey’s words — “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God” — something in me came alive. Carey, known as the “father of modern missions,” spoke directly to the part of me that’s wired to move, to build, to make things happen.
I’ve always been someone who feels most alive when I’m creating or executing — when I’m doing something. So naturally, I saw Carey’s quote as a kind of validation and a reason to keep pushing forward, to use my ambition for kingdom purposes.
But over time, that motivation started to feel more complicated.
Was I really doing this for God, or was I trying to prove something to myself?
Was this obedience—or insecurity?
Am I getting ahead of God?
After all, He doesn’t need me. He’s not waiting around for my help to accomplish His plans. And yet… I’ve also been told He wants to use me. That He delights when His children join in what He’s doing.
So where does that leave me? Somewhere between grace and ambition, rest and effort. If I push too hard, I fear slipping into legalism. If I pull back, I worry I’m being unfaithful with what He’s entrusted to me.
I’m learning that the gospel doesn’t erase that tension—it redeems it. Grace doesn’t silence effort; it purifies it. The kind of striving God calls us to isn’t about proving our worth, but responding to His love. Holy ambition isn’t self-made—it’s Spirit-born.
Good Effort vs. Bad Effort
Good effort: effort that is the vehicle of divine power
Bad effort: effort that tries to be its own power
Good effort isn’t about gritting your teeth to impress God. It’s effort that rides on the current of grace. Bad effort runs on self-importance, anxiety, or image-building. It may look productive, but it is spiritually weightless.
What is grace?
If effort can be redeemed, then grace must be more than a pardon. To understand how grace shapes our ambition, we need both of its angles—both are essential:
Undeserved favor
Power for living
Undeserved Favor
We can’t work to earn grace. It is free and undeserved.
Romans 3:24
Romans 5:15
Romans 11:5
Ephesians 2:8
Grace as Power for Life
Grace isn’t just a disposition in God; it’s an active force—His empowering presence working in us. It changes our capacity for work, suffering, and obedience.
2 Corinthians 9:8
2 Corinthians 12:9
1 Corinthians 15:10
Hebrews 4:16
Paul describes grace not as something static, but dynamic:
“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” — 2 Corinthians 9:8
Grace sustains us in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9) and energizes our effort (1 Corinthians 15:10). In every case, grace isn’t merely given — it works.
And when Hebrews calls us to draw near to the “throne of grace,” it’s not just saying God forgives us — it’s saying He meets us with well-timed help. Grace is both the heart of God to treat us better than we deserve and His power extended to help us when we most need it.
If grace is both favor and power, then the question naturally follows: what should that power produce in us? What kind of ambition pleases God?
(Shout-out to my guy John Piper for shaping how I understand grace 🙌🏼)
Does ambition matter to God?
Is there such a thing as good vs. bad ambition? My short answer is yes.
Holy ambition is “from God.” It has a God-shaped origin and a God-centered aim. It wants Christ known and people loved. See: Holy Ambition: Paul’s and Yours
Unholy ambition can be “for us” or even “for God,” but still revolve around self. It uses God-language as a ladder for personal glory.
The difference isn’t only in what we do, but in where the desire comes from and what it’s aiming at.
The gospel sequence: Grace → Ambition → Effort
God’s grace comes first
Grace kindles holy ambition
Holy ambition expresses itself in sustained, joyful effort
God’s Grace → Holy Ambition → The “Right” Effort
This order matters. When we invert it, we either:
Try to produce grace by effort, which is legalism
Or we attempt ambition without grace, which becomes self-promotion
Kept in order, effort becomes an instrument, not an idol.
How to test your effort
Ask three questions:
Origin: Is this desire arising from prayerful dependence, Scripture-shaped vision, and love for people? Or from comparison, insecurity, or fear?
Aim: Would this still be “worth it” if nobody noticed but God? Is the good of others the point, not the prop?
Engine: Am I moving by the strength that God supplies, or by caffeine, panic, and pride? Do prayer, patience, and repentance sit inside my workflow?
Where grace is the engine, the fruit can look like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Where self is the engine, the fruit can looks like hurry, envy, harshness, and exhaustion.
What good effort can feel like:
Clear conscience: motives are periodically re-surrendered to God
Quiet persistence: urgency without panic
Repentant flexibility: able to stop, adjust, apologize, and keep going
Joy in smallness: content to be a conduit, not the source
What bad effort can feel like:
Chronic comparison and defensiveness
Fragility when plans fail or credit shifts
Prayer becomes an afterthought
A low-grade hum of anxiety dressed up as “drive”
Practices that keep the order right
Begin with receiving: a brief daily prayer, “All this by the strength that you supply”
Clarify aim: write a one-sentence purpose for the work that centers God’s glory and others’ good
Build in repentance: short pauses to confess mixed motives and ask for clean hands and a steady heart
End with gratitude: name evidences of grace, not just metrics
A word on “for God” language
It’s possible to do things “for God” in a way that keeps self at the center. The check isn’t the phrase we use but the power we rely on and the fruit that shows up over time. Holy ambition tends to produce humble, steady builders rather than anxious empire-makers.
Bottom line
So maybe Carey was right after all — but only when read through the lens of grace. Expect great things from God, yes. Attempt great things with God, not just for Him.
Grace doesn’t compete with effort. It creates the right kind of effort. When grace births holy ambition, effort becomes a vehicle of divine power, not a bid for divine approval. Receive grace. Let it set the aim. Then work hard in the strength God supplies.
Further listening and reading
John Piper on Grace and Holy Ambition