The first time I thought of the subject for this month’s blog post was about 2 months ago. Actually, this post should have been completed in February, but it’s almost a whole week into March and I’m very behind my self-imposed schedule. It’s not because I gave up though!
I’m telling you this because 2 months ago, I had no clue that I’d feel the way I do now. I didn’t feel as though I needed to give up on anything then! I was actually feeling very good because I had not given up, and I believed that God had finally answered my prayer. That was then.
This is now. I am feeling defeated. I feel like giving up. I may spend some time in self-pity, but I can’t stay there. I seek to try to figure it out. Where did I go wrong? Did I go wrong?
Maybe that was not the plan! I believe I may have taken the wrong path thinking that it was the right one. That can happen sometimes, too, especially when we jump into something just because we’ve been waiting for it for so long.
Just because I was praying when it happened doesn’t necessarily mean that it was the correct answer to my prayer. Things had drastically changed. I didn’t pause to pray. I didn’t verify it with God. Was it the correct path or not? I know that it was not the correct path now.
As difficulties came, several friends had recently and specifically told me: “Don’t give up!” I thought to myself, I’m not giving up! Now that would be so much easier to just give up and stop trying. Yet, I pressed on to win the race, as the Bible tells us to do.
So, I took a little time going along that road, and it was bumpy and difficult. It also had some excitement and wonder. It was different and somewhat encouraging, but then it began to become very discouraging with a few steep hills and a few very deep valleys. I started to want to give up. Then, what I thought I had gained was quickly snatched away from me.
I know I’m being evasive and not specific about what happened to me. Many times I share intimate details of my own life to help you with yours. This time I will refrain from sharing the details.
Within a very short time, suddenly, everything quickly changed! Any thing can change in the blink of an eye! Suddenly can be good news and suddenly can be bad news. This was suddenly bad news.
Yet, should we ever give up? No matter what came suddenly, we need to move forward. We need to keep trying. We need to stay close to God.
Are you giving up on your God-given dream? He gave you the extraordinary talent to perform some kind of creative thing and the ability to make that dream into a reality.
My Bible study teacher pointed something out to me. Not only is God the Creator of the world and the creator of every human being, but we were created in His image. As such, we were each given something special to create, too.
Furthermore, God will give us what we need, but we must make the effort. We must utilize the talents and fuel the ideas he has given to us. We must implement these ideas and make them a reality. Don’t just dream it, do it!
Do you give up on eating for the fuel you need to live and move? No, of course not! Do you give up on getting out of bed each day? Maybe you do at times. But why does one stay in bed? Disappointments, failures, lack of belief in yourself, or lack of hope? Probably even more because of the lack of communion with God and seeking His direction first.
We all start questioning God. We tell Him, “If you loved me, then you’d answer my prayers.” If He doesn’t answer our prayer or doesn’t answer quite the way we expect, we seem to collapse. Why is it that God does not always answer our prayers? Or why doesn’t the answer come with an affirmation in our favor?
Maybe we need to learn something. Maybe we need to learn how to be strong in the face of failure and disappointments.
Don’t allow the enemy, the devil, who prowls around to kill and destroy to get you down. Just stop it!
I’d suggest you read the Biblical account of the widow who was seeking justice from the judge. That judge didn’t fear God or care about others. However, with righteous persistence and without giving up, the widow was able to receive her due justice.
With that account, “… Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.” (Luke 18:1 [added bold is my emphasis)
“Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this new way,” [to see beyond the veil] “we never give up.” (2 Corinthians 4:1 — my emphasis in red and bold).
If you don’t understand my words in brackets: “to see beyond the veil,” maybe you can let me know by joining the site as a follower of my blog and posting a comment. I’d love to hear from you!
Here are several more Biblical scriptures about not giving up:
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”(Galations 6:9)
“… Have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, ‘My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you.’ ” (Hebrews 12:5)
“But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.” (Judges 2:19)
“Satan replied to the Lord, “Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life.” (Job 2:4)
“If you give up your lust for money and throw your precious gold into the river, the Almighty himself will be your treasure. He will be your precious silver! Then you will take delight in the Almighty and look up to God. You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to Him. You will succeed in whatever you choose to do, and light will shine on the road ahead of you. If people are in trouble and you say, ‘Help them,’ God will save them. Even sinners will be rescued; they will be rescued because your hands are pure.” (Job 22:24-30)
“We know what real love is because Jesus gave upHis life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (1 John 3:16)
“Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways.” (Isaiah 1:16)
“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)
“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” (Mark 8:35)
“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” (Luke 9:24)
In the last three Bible verses, three different disciples (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are all telling us God’s Word in nearly the same way.
Do you believe it? I sure hope so, and I’m praying for you and for me, too. Then we won’t give up. We will keep trying. We will move forward. We will use our God-given talents to create something wonderful and beautiful that will count for eternity.
Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.
God’s Word for Today: “Think of all the hostility He [Jesus Christ] endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.” (Hebrews 12:3)
Copyright © 2016 by Patricia Shehan
