NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE UP

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At the first half of the 20^th century, Britain found itself in the middle of World War 2 where it seemed to be at a disadvantage against the Nazi forces. But Britain had a leader who would not give up no matter how dire their circumstance was. Prime Minister Winston Churchill saw Britain through a war where they appeared on the losing end and made these words famous, speaking in Harrow School in 1941:

“...surely from this period of ten months this is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.”

By the end of World War 2, Britain was preserved and together with the Allied Forces, it had victory.

How important it is in the Christian life to have a heart that will never give up. Going on to Christian perfection, finishing our race, and hitting our mark will depend on it.

As I was waiting on the Lord, I was reminded of some common areas where one’s endurance is tested and where we must not give up:

1. We should not give up when in difficult trials.

Have you ever been through or are going through a trial that just seems to have no way out? Does your trial appear bigger than yourself? Has it been a while?

God does allow His saints to be tried. The best of saints in fact go through the most difficult and long-lasting trials not because God takes pleasure in seeing people suffer but because He knows the good that trials can bring in the life of His people.

Joseph had such a trial. His difficulty lasted for a decade. He did what was right before the eyes of God yet it just seemed to take him further down the pit. Every time his situation changed it was always for the worse. He suffered tremendously as a result of betrayal, false accusation, and a broken promise. Over and over, he saw people fail him. But he did not allow these failures to make him give up. He kept the faith. Even when he was in prison, he professed his faith in God. 

We will experience times when our faith in God and obedience to Him can lead to persecution, mockery or hardships. This is allowed by God to develop in us endurance. Our faith in God must go through the fire to prove its genuineness.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:6-7) 

The Apostle Peter puts it in proper perspective. He calls us forth to rejoice even if we suffer for a little while. In truth, no matter how long our difficulties in this life will last, they will be very short compared to our eternal joy if we endure to the end. Thus, we must not give up!

Then the Apostle Peter goes on to tell us why God allows such trials. He says that it is so our faith maybe refined and turned into something much more precious than gold. Gold that is still mixed with alloys is not very valuable. It is when gold is subjected to the fire that it is purified, rid of alloys and made something of worth.

When gold has a lower grade of purity, being mixed with alloys, it is also harder. Pure gold, on the other hand, is malleable and soft. It is actually the most malleable of all metals. And this is certainly what a heart that accepts the trials becomes - soft and malleable. The hardness of our hearts are removed by trials. God uses trials to make our hearts yield to His will.

Gold is probably the most important of the precious metals. Yet, God says, our faith, when made genuine is far more precious than gold. Truly a soft and ever-yielding heart is very precious in the eyes of the Lord.

Joseph had such a heart that really became like soft and malleable gold - full of mercy and very accepting of God’s choices for his life. When his brothers realized who he was, he said:

But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 45:5-8) 

2. We should not give up on ourselves and our internal battles. 

There may be struggles in your life where you seem to always get defeated or where you do not seem to make any progress. And these areas can lead one to think that there is no hope on going on further in one’s walk. If discouragement is entertained, a Christian can just accept defeat, settle for his sorry spiritual state and become complacent. Discouragement can keep a person from being transformed in that area of his life where he is struggling and worse can keep him from moving on with God. A person suffering from this will have these things playing in his head: “I am never going to change”, “This is just who I am.”

After failing in another test have you ever felt like it is just not worth fighting against your weakness? Have you ever felt frustrated and thought: “here I go again”?

At some point in Peter’s life, he just seemed to have given up. After failing the Lord by denying Him three times, Peter decided to go back fishing.

Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” (John 21:2-3)

One can only imagine how deep Peter’s agony must have been. He had walked with Jesus for three and a half years. He was one of the three closest disciples of Jesus. And after all those years of being with the Master and being taught by Him, Peter would deny Him not once but thrice. That must have been truly devastating. So that day in John 21, we are told he decided to go fishing. He was not out there declaring the gospel. He was going back to where he was before he met Jesus. But Jesus met him that day and restored him. 

Since then, did Peter completely overcome already? Peter in his older years will still find himself battling with his weaknesses. Twenty-one years after his restoration, Peter would be found denying his own message that the Gentiles are also partakers of salvation. Thus, he will be rebuked by the Apostle Paul. (Galatians 2:11-14) However, did this make him give up, seeing that after two decades of walking with God, there was still that a part of him that feared men, the same issue that made him deny Christ the first time? No. He kept on, not letting his failure keep him from continuing his race. Until the time came when God’s work in him was completed that he was even able to encourage others with these words:

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. (1 Peter 5:10)

God could use Peter to say this because this has been made real in his own life. Despite his many battles in his race, he finished and was perfected, established, strengthened and settled in the end because he did not give up!

3. We should not give up waiting on God’s promises.

Many of God’s promises take time to be fulfilled. It is a tendency of people to expect that when God gives them a promise today that it will happen tomorrow. However, God’s timetable is very different from man’s. There is often a period of waiting before God brings them to fruition. God uses this period to prepare the person to receive His promises so that he will handle the blessings wisely. He also allows the waiting period to build faith in a man. He also waits for the person to fulfill his part. God is not only concerned in delivering the promises but also in building a person’s character.

The Lord promised Abraham that he will be a great nation. Yet after many years this promise was given he did not even have a child. The Lord brought Abraham to a point where it was no longer humanly possible to produce God’s promise, that in the end it may be made clear that it was not Abraham who was responsible for the fulfillment of God’s great promises to him, but the Lord. Also, the quality of faith it has produced in the life of Abraham has become today a standard in the future generations’ walk of faith.

He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Romans 4:20-22)

His unwavering faith was eventually rewarded as the Lord gave him Isaac when he was 100 years old. And today anyone who sees Abraham’s heritage in the nations would know that truly God has been faithful to fulfill His promise to him. 

4. We should not give up planting seeds.

We must not stop sowing seeds of God’s truths in others. Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged to reach out to others because they just seem to be really closed to the Gospel or the message of going on to Christian perfection. There are times when you can get discouraged because you feel like you are not bearing fruits. However, the Word encourages us to keep on because a harvest shall eventually come!

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:9-10)

Jeremiah’s ministry did not seem to be very fruitful. He called the Israelites to repent many times over and yet the nation did not heed. Israel stubbornly kept to its way. And they were led to captivity. However, his ministry was certainly heeded by somebody who read his prophecies later on. The prophet Daniel studied the prophecies of Jeremiah and believed in the return of the Jews to their homeland. Somebody did hear and did heed the voice of Jeremiah!

Why should we not give up?

One, we must not give up because the reward is for those who endure to the end. 

If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. (2 Timothy 2:12)

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry." (Hebrews 10:35-37)

Two, the Lord does not take pleasure in those who draw back.

Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” (Hebrews 10:38)

Third, God is saying do not give up because He will see us through. He promises us that He who began a good work in us is faithful to complete it.

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

He also tells us that He is faithful even when we are faithless.

If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)

In Dr. Brian Bailey’s book “The Comforter,” he shares how one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit to us is being our Comforter or Encourager. The Greek word for this is parakletos, which refers to a member of the Roman Army who had a very special job. While the Roman Army was composed of very good soldiers, they were not immune to discouragement especially under very difficult circumstances. Thus, they had these parakletos, who were men who marched alongside the soldiers to give words of encouragement and sing songs of victory. These men helped lift the spirits of the soldiers. In the same manner, the Holy Spirit encourages the saint as he goes through challenging situations. The Holy Spirit quickens the Word to us or brings to our remembrance past victories which we received because of the Lord’s great power and faithfulness over us.

When the city where Prophet Elisha was in was about to be attacked by the Syrian forces, Elisha’s servant was disheartened. Seeing the city surrounded by horses and chariots, he panicked.

And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:11-17)

However, Elisha’s prayer shows us the key to win against discouragements and to not give up. He told his servant not to fear because those who are with them are greater than those who were against them. Then he prayed to God that God will open the eyes of his servant to see the hosts of heaven who were on Elisha’s side. And the servant saw the multitudes of God’s army who were there to fight for them.

Elisha did not give up nor did not get disheartened by the enemies because he knew that God was on his side and that He was far greater than any army on earth. This he knew because he saw the battle with his spiritual eyes. Let us pray that in our personal battles God will also open our spiritual eyes to see that He is in our midst and that victory is forthcoming because of Him!