Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best God finds it hard to give, because He would give the best, and man will not take it.

The saying contrasts human desire with divine generosity. MacDonald suggests that people often pursue lesser goods—comfort, control, immediate gratification—rather than the “best,” understood as God’s own will for their growth in holiness and love. The frustration of “not getting what he wants” is thus partly self-inflicted: the will is mis-aimed. In the second half, God’s “difficulty” is not lack of power but the moral logic of love: God gives the highest gift (ultimately, God’s own life and transforming grace), yet refuses to force it on a resistant person. The line captures MacDonald’s recurring theme that salvation is remedial and relational—God’s giving seeks to heal the will, but must be received.