Don’t Quit
“Run with perseverance the race marked out for us…Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
—Heb. 12:1,3
Have you ever been in a wrestling match where the other guy pinned you to the floor and asked you, “Do you give?” He wants to know if you have had enough and are ready to give up. Have you ever felt like giving up? I think we all have at one time or another. I meet people every day who are weary, tired of fighting, who have had too much. They are ready to quit.
George Herbert once said, “He begins to die, that quits his desires.”8 All of us at one time or another may be tempted to quit. It isn’t always easy to understand why God wouldn’t want the same thing that we want or why He isn’t doing more to make that happen.
What is it you turn to when you are feeling discouraged, disappointed, in despair? David suggests we need to find our happiness in the Lord (Ps. 37:4). You may have seen the movie, “Finding Elmo,”9 and remember the character, Flo, that would find her happy place whenever she was feeling stressed. That isn’t what David is talking about here. David is encouraging us to turn to the Lord whenever we feel like giving up.
Often, we misinterpret what God may be doing. When doors appear to close or obstacles appear in our way, we tend to ask the wrong questions, such as, “God, why did You let this happen?” Or, “God, why didn’t you just (fill in the blank)?” John Eldredge in his book, Wild at Heart10 suggests we should ask a different set of questions, for example, “What are You trying to teach me?” “What is it You want me to see?” I would add, “What is it You may be trying to accomplish through this experience?”
The enemy would rather you believe that you will never be able to be successful. He is obviously worried that you may be able to accomplish something of significance if he doesn’t do his best to distract you or discourage you. William Gurnall in his classic piece of the 16th century, “The Christian in Complete Armour”11 wrote:
"As part of Christ's army, you march in the ranks of gallant spirits. Every one of your fellow soldiers is the child of a King. Some, like you, are in the midst of battle, besieged on every side by affliction and temptation. Others, after many assaults, repulses, and rallyings of their faith, are already standing upon the wall of heaven as conquerors. From there they look down and urge you, their comrades on earth, to march up the hill after them. This is their cry: 'Fight to the death and the City is your own, as now it is ours!' "
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Gal. 6:9).”
Once in leading a marriage retreat in a beautiful part of southern Illinois I decided to have the couples do a prayer walk. A trail was chosen and couples were dispatched to reflect upon their marriages and how God had been with them on this journey. No one had scouted the trail we decided to walk, but it being only a mile long, we were all sure we could make it.
It turned out, the first half of the walk was all uphill and included some rather steep climbing, including the steps shown in the last chapter. Each of those steps was about a foot high. That time of reflection became a challenge of endurance.
The couples had intentionally been spaced out so that they could have time alone with each other. As we all neared the midway point, the first couples arriving at the top were cheering for those who came up behind them. It was a wonderful gesture, but it didn’t dawn on me why they were actually cheering until I reached that point myself.
As we arrived at the top of the hill we had been climbing, there was a bend in the path so that we couldn’t see what awaited us.
Alhough you may be tempted to ask God to remove you from the situations and circumstances you are in, ask Him instead to give you what you need to endure, to trust in the way He has brought you and is leading you now.
