Zechariah4:6 Then he said to me, "This is what the LORD says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of Heaven's Armies.
NLT
The pursuit of what to eat and drink is what populist opinion refers to as 'rat race'. So many are wired to run this race of rats even though they are humans, they keep running without a finish line, some are running this race without considering the place of grace, some have abandoned God, family and purpose because of this race just because they want to achieve ephemeral things.
God is saying to you that your struggles are worthless when His Spirit is not involved. The year is winding up, yet the eyes of many haven't opened to the fact that the Spirit and the grace of God is what makes one's labour to be rewarding and fruitful. Learning to rest on God and not your effort makes success attractive.
Stop applying force and strength to what the Spirit of God should do. Trying to succeed without God would keep you struggling and make you run the rat race longer. God spoke to Zerubbabel that his force and strength can't get the job done but only by His Spirit and that same voice is coming to you today.
Father, I cease from running the race of life by myself, I engage your Spirit henceforth In Jesus name.