I want to be honest with you guys: there are days I want to give up…For example, I love being a pastor, but ministry is tough! And some days, I have the fleeting thought, “Something else would be so much easier.”
But that’s not really true, is it? For all of us – no matter what our jobs or families are like – sometimes life gets so hard, so challenging, that we just wanna give up. We just wanna throw in the towel.
Here’s the thing: don’t ever quit. And I have one really important reason to share with you today about why you should never give up.
The reason you should never give up is this: the person who has the greatest need is actually the prime candidate for God to do something miraculous.
What does that mean? I’m so glad you asked! See, in the midst of our most hopeless situations, where we’ve watched our dreams die, and hope seems totally unattainable – none of those things are beyond the control and intervention of God.
I know, I know, we say it all the time: “God has a plan.” It can sound cliche sometimes. When we’re in the midst of grief or hardship and other people say those words to us, it can even feel invalidating…even if we know God has a plan, sometimes life is just hard anyway. That’s just real.
But sometimes we forget that no matter what goes down, God isn’t done with us yet. And we might just be in the middle of the story he’s writing in our lives.
See, that’s the hope we have as followers of Jesus.
As a follower of Jesus, you can hope that on this side of eternity, God is going to work in the most extraordinary ways, but God’s miraculous hand is only seen when things are totally a mess. Think about Moses, when the children of Israel were stuck between the Red Sea on one side, and the Egyptian army on the other side. God delivered his people from seemingly impossible odds by parting the Red Sea and leading his people through and dry ground.
Think about Jesus: he was crucified and buried…but he rose again!
See, God’s miraculous hand always comes when things are in the worst situation. Unfortunately many of us throw in the towel in things that are challenging, right before God wants to do something amazing.
But let’s not do that anymore! Let’s be the kind of people who never give up, never throw in the towel, who hope in God despite the suffering we’re facing.
I know it’s true – all of our lives can be excruciating sometimes. Things can be so challenging, and we all have those moments where we say, “I just don’t want to do this anymore. I’m so tired of this.”
But don’t quit because God wants to do a work. And if you hang on, if you endure to the end, I promise…you’ll watch God absolutely blow your mind.