Don’t Quit

The latter part of last year—and even this year—has been trying for me mentally, physically, and spiritually.

If I’m honest… I’ve wanted to give up.
Give up on dreams.
Give up on relationships.
Even give up on God.

The encourager… needed encouragement.
I felt lost.

I read something the other day that said,
“I give up on giving up.”

In the article, people had different interpretations of what that line meant.
Some thought it meant they tried to change, failed, and decided to stop trying altogether.
Others believed it meant they were done quitting—and ready to go the distance no matter what.

But however you interpret it… one thing is true:

We have all wanted to give up.

When communication breaks down in our marriages and both sides are at a standstill—we want to give up.
When our children aren’t listening and nothing we say seems to stick—we want to give up.
When our career isn’t going the way we planned and we can’t figure out what’s next—we want to give up.
When there’s more month than money—and let’s be real, living in California will test your faith—we want to give up.

And when our prayers don’t seem to be answered as quickly as we’d like…

If we’re honest…
we’re tempted to give up on God too.

But before you do…
let’s anchor ourselves in truth.

Because feelings will tell you to quit… but truth will tell you to keep going.

Let’s look at a few areas where you might be tempted to give up—and why you don’t have to.

Don’t give up when you’re battling weaknesses

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9

Your weakness is not your disqualification.
It’s the very place God’s strength shows up the strongest.

Don’t give up when your prayers feel unanswered

“…always pray and not lose heart.” — Luke 18:1
“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength…” — Isaiah 40:31

Waiting is not God ignoring you.
It’s God preparing you.

Don’t give up when attacks come from every direction

“Take up the whole armor of God… and the shield of faith… to quench all the fiery darts…” — Ephesians 6:13,16

The attack doesn’t mean you’re losing.
It often means you’re a threat.

Don’t give up when life feels heavy and relentless

“…in patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses…” — 2 Corinthians 6:4–5
“When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned…” — Isaiah 43:2

You may go through it…
but you will not be consumed by it.

Don’t give up when the assignment feels hard and fruit looks far away

“Let us not grow weary of doing good…” — Galatians 6:9

This is for the leaders.
The entrepreneurs.
The creatives.
The ones building something that doesn’t look like much… yet.

Due season is coming.

Don’t give up when what you’re doing feels unseen

“…your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” — Matthew 6:4

Just because people don’t see it…
doesn’t mean God doesn’t.

Don’t give up when you’ve fallen into sin

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful…” — 1 John 1:9

Don’t stay down.
Repent—even if it’s again.
Lift your eyes back to Jesus.
And get back in the fight.

My point in all of this is simple:

Don’t. Give. Up.

God has never given up on you.
Not once. Not ever.

So don’t give up on Him.

You may feel like you’ve been fighting alone…
but Jesus has been there the entire time.

The pressure is real.
The temptation to quit is real.

But so is the grace of God.
And so is your purpose.

Don’t give up.

I want to leave you with a poem entitled Don’t Quit. When you feel like giving up, come back to this—it’s your reminder not to quit.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns

As every one of us sometimes learns

And many a failure comes about

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell just how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit

It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

For all the sad words of tongue or pen,

The saddest are these: “It might have been!”

Share this with someone who needs to hear this—don’t quit now, there’s a blessing on the other side.