Feel Like Giving Up?

“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT)

Discouraged? Disappointed? Down? Been there! Wanting to quit? I wanted to quit not only ministry, the Christian way, but life itself! Times get hard, Satan oppresses in unimaginable ways and the echo in our spirit is: “Nobody ever told me it would be this hard! That it would hurt this much!” Spiritual pain is perhaps the most severe with which we have to deal in this life. Believing God is with us and for us, that He’s called us, equipped, informed, and is guiding us – then the bottom drops out!

Someone leaves, dies, or an opportunity we’d counted on falls through. All our dreams seem to be shattered with one letter, call or conversation. How can we go on? How can life ever be the same? And here’s the good news – It can’t be! It won’t be! And that’s good news because? Because God is in control of our lives and outcomes, not us!

Paul understood this as revealed in his words in 2 Corinthians 6:4: “In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.” Then in verses 5-10 he outlines the many ways he has experienced those “hardships and calamities.” But why? Why would the God of love allow His followers to suffer in such cruel ways?

Because it’s the way of the Cross! Jesus said in Matthew 16:24: “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, your will lose it, but if your give up your life for My sake, you will save it.” Does that mean every Jesus follower will suffer like Jesus or Paul?

No, but that’s got to be our attitude if we’re going to survive this life with an ounce of faith left. Suffering and hardship are part of the deal. To believe we’re going to skate through life without any heartache or pain is to misunderstand the purpose of life. Life as a believer in Jesus is hard, but the reward is out of this world! We must persevere, believing the Lord is with us, for us and will sustain us through whatever He allows to enter our life.

It brings me comfort to know that some of the spiritual “giants” of the Bible – Moses, Elijah, Jonah, Jeremiah, Job, even Paul got tired, angry with God and wanted to quit. But we read their stories, not because they walked their walk perfectly, but because in the end, they didn’t quit! Toby McKeehan (Toby Mac) gives us insight here when he writes: “Giving up on your goal because of one setback is like slashing your other tires because you got one flat.” 

It’s encouraging to know that the reason we have the stories of the men and women of faith whom God used to change the course of history weren’t perfect, they just chose to “change their flat” and keep moving forward. Billy Graham challenges us when he writes: “The Holy Spirit can rejuvenate a tired Christian, captivate an indifferent believer, and empower a dry church.”  This morning, I could hardly lift my head, but this afternoon I have joy in Jesus as He’s enabling me to declare His praise and honor.

Here’s the bottom line: DON’T QUIT! Keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep plodding forward in Jesus. He IS with you! He IS for you! And the end you cannot now see is even better than you’ve ever imagined. You WILL get through this hard chapter, and the Lord WILL make the remaining chapters of your life better than you’ve ever imagined. Please don’t let the enemy of your soul rob, not only you, but those who will grow and benefit from your present experience with the Lord.

By God’s grace keep moving forward to the glory and honor of the One whose holy Name you bear!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊