Maybe I Should Just Quit….

All of us living and breathing belong to or are a part of something. It could be a civic group, a bible study, an extra curricular group, your church, your job, your family, friendships, your marriage, etc..

Woah, Brandi, you might be thinking! What in the world have you been eating? What point are you trying to make?

I was thinking again and wanted to point out that when you are a part of something; on purpose or accident, it’s a wonderful thing, and it can be a challenging thing, right?

We all go through ups and downs in this vapor we live called life, and unless you are under a rock living you are going to have the “goods and the bads”. Just as life is full of choices from what’s for breakfast, to whom will I marry? Bottom line, We have a choice on how we will handle the ups and downs.

How many times has the “downs” got to you and you said “maybe I should just quit?” Your words echo in your mind as you repeat them quietly.

When things are going smoothly, the birds sing Disney songs when you get up in the morning, everyone smiles when you enter the building/ house/ church, people want your autograph, you make everyone around you happy, no one disagrees… Blah blah blah. (Insert sarcasm and a needle scraping across a vinyl record that was playing). Yeah okay, this really happens. Ha!

No, on the contrary, it only seems like its true because it’s something new. You haven’t had to get into the tough decisions where you don’t get along with everyone. You haven’t had to tell someone, No! There hasn’t come a time when you are “dog tired” and don’t want to do “it” anymore.
No those moments haven’t happened yet so it’s easy to be excited about everything. ( it’s new for crying out loud ). (New house, new marriage, new car, new job, etc…).
No, it’s not hard to be excited about these things.

It’s hard when you have to endure things. It’s hard to “stick it out” when the fun isn’t so fun at the moment. The newness has worn off.

Are you gonna say ” this ain’t for me, Jack” and run away? Perhaps you are going to be the person that says ” I’m not gonna give up, I’m not gonna be a quitter.”
I mean, Who wants to be known as someone that just quits or gives up at the first sign of challenge or resistance? I hope your answer was “Not me.”

God doesn’t want us to quit. Let’s go to The Word for answers. Hebrews 10:36 says

For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may inherit the promises.

Want a real life example-let’s use Jesus .
He was new to his ministry, 30 years old and going around preaching- it was “new”. He was healing the sick, raising the dead etc… People we’re flocking to him in droves, it had to be exciting. Then comes the endurance part. He was beaten, spat upon, rejected by those closest to Him, crucified on a cross.

Should He have quit? Could he have quit? Sure He could have! However, He had endurance. He knew that quitting wasn’t an option. He knew that His Father had called Him to a specific purpose…. To create a way to God, to live with Him forever.

See, we are all called to a purpose. To be a spouse, a friend, a parent, a coworker, a president, a teacher, a leader, a family member, etc… We have to stand firm and know we are called to finish the tasks.

Furthermore, To quit means to stop or quit an action or an activity. I know we all have quit things from time to time. There are even THOSE times when we do need to step away from whatever it is.

Perhaps though, Maybe the real activity we should be quitting should be the act of giving up, the I’m tired of this situation, so I’m going to “bail” or it’s boring now and I just don’t want to do it, anymore. I’m saddened to see that this world has become less committed to anyone and everything.

Let’s not be a quitter, let’s endure whatever it is. Maybe, Just maybe, we are to learn something in the uncomfortable moments while we are “doing the will of God.”

Remember, we never know who’s looking at us, who may be learning from our example, or who may be counting on us to lead and/ or finish the work.

Jesus certainly didn’t give up. He ENDURED the cross for me and you.

Have endurance!! Don’t stop! Don’t give up! Don’t quit!

Be remembered as one that NEVER gave up, not as one that completed nothing.