Don't give up!

 

I love the saying "if you don't like the weather in the south, just wait a little bit...it will change".  The same is true for most anything.

The question is not whether or not something will change, but whether or not we will hang on until it does.

One of my favorite "go to" Bible verses is Exodus 14:14. The Israelites have escaped slavery in Egypt. They are standing on the edge of the Red Sea with the Egyptian Soldiers closing in behind them. They are trapped and all looks quite hopeless. Moses tells the people. "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still".

Sure enough, God parts the Red Sea, the Israelites walk across on DRY land, and, as they reach the safety of the far shore, God releases the waters and drowns the Egyptians that were chasing His people. Wow. Of ALL the things that the Israelites imagined God might do to save them, I bet no one guessed he would part the sea!

Another favorite go-to verse is Psalms 121:3(b), "The one who  watches over you does not sleep."  The picture of God watching over me gives me such comfort.

Sometimes we need be still and let the LORD fight for us. Other times we need to trust Him to watch over a troubling situation so that we can get some much needed rest.

The Bible is full of stories of people who faced troubling times and did not give up. How tragic it would have been if:

• Moses' mother had simply thrown her hands up in desperation when Pharaoh decreed that all male babies be killed. story of Moses's birth
• David had given up on life because he'd sinned against God and his life was falling apart. David's fall
• Noah had been overwhelmed by what God asked of him and succumbed to anxiety. Noah's story
• Joseph was too devastated by Mary's apparent betrayal to be a father to Jesus. Joseph's story

There are so many others...what if the Disciples had given up hope after Jesus was crucified? What if Peter had succumbed to despair and depression after denying Christ 3 times? What if Saul had wallowed in regret and despair after Christ revealed Himself on the Road to Damascus? I wonder what story of redemption could have been told through the life of Judas...if he hadn't hung himself.

 

My point is this...life is hard. There are definitely times that we feel like giving up. BUT when we give up, we end our story in the worst part. Hang in there. Give God time to change things...to change YOU. Rest in knowing that He is in control. Trust Him even when things look bad and life doesn't make sense. The Bible is full of folks who hung on through the tough times.

 

If you give up, you won't know what God had in mind for the end of your story...and neither will anyone else.