Sunday, March 3, 2013

I Quit

I Quit
March 4, 2013
Galatians 6:9  "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."


I Quit.  Yes, that is a statement you've undoubtedly said many times over in your head regarding your Christianity and your circumstances.  You've said it and I've said it.  It is certainly how we feel at times, many days even.  We give a half hearted effort and when things don't pan out perfectly, we get frustrated and have a quitting attitude.  We try not to sin and yet fail at that too, inspiring the quitting attitude in us even more.  We figure it is useless, pointless to go forward.  It's too hard, too long, and too tiring to continue.  We feel unsuccessful, uninspired, and unimportant.  Just quit; that's what we tell ourselves.  But we never do it, we never fully quit.  Sure, we try a little less some days but we never fully quit.  We think of giving up, but we don't.  We can't.  There is something in us that won't let us fully walk away.

Inside each and every one of us is the voice of the Lord pulling us toward Him, toward His calling for our lives.  We hear it, feel it, know it to be real and it keeps us from fully quitting.  It is during this time (of having a quitting attitude) that our resolve actually gets stronger.  It doesn't feel stronger in the moment, just the opposite, but if we don't give up when quitting is the easiest, then we are actually proving our valor.  It seems backward but the human psyche is building it's steadfastness during this time of frustration and futility.

The Apostle Paul tells us not to give up, but stay steadfast.  He, of all people, understood feeling futile from hard efforts.  He was beaten down by the world, tortured, shipwrecked, and abandoned to prison several times.  He failed often in his work and in his personal life, falling short of what the Lord required of him.  Quitting would have been easier than going forward with life.  But he couldn't walk away.  He knew deep down inside of him what the Lord called out for his life.  He understood that he must go on, that he must continue to wake up every morning and try again.

You might feel like you are in the pit of despair, but that feeling of despair could not exist without hope.  Hope is what you still have inside of you; that's why it hurts so badly on days when you want to quit.  Your hope is not yet realized.  Scripture promises there will be an end, a due season of reaping for your hard work.  Only do not quit in your efforts of trying to do good, trying to do the right thing, trying to serve the Lord in whatever task He has called out for you.

Life is never promised to be all rainbows, cruise-ships, and roses.  Sometimes its floods, shipwrecks, and a crown of thorns.  So, have a silent pity party for yourself then get up out of bed, put your boots on, and get back at it.  You have to.  You must.  You cannot quit now.  It is your destiny.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Psalm 31:24, Psalm 55:22, Psalm 71:14, Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 5:5, Romans 12:12, Heb 10:24, Heb 12:4-13, Heb 13:5

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