"I quit!"

About a hundred years ago a children’s story first appeared in a Sunday School paper that is now known as “The Little Engine that Could.” A little steam engine is tasked with pulling a line of rail cars and finds a steep hill standing in the way. He manages to do the impossible while repeating the line, “I think I can, I think I can.”  I don’t know who first read that story book to me. However, it lodged deep in my psyche and the lesson in sticking with the task until it’s done is one of my individual core values. It’s not that I have never considered quitting. Every Monday morning, there’s a little voice in my head that suggests I find a different calling. (It’s an occupational hazard of ministers.)

People quit jobs, leave marriages, and abandon faith. Half-complete jobs, unfinished projects, and broken promises are the monuments that quitters leave behind. Are you thinking of quitting? Does the mountain in front of you seem insurmountable?  Pause, reflect, pray, and then move forward with determination.

The Bible tells us to ‘persevere.’ "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 10:36-11:1, NIV)  It’s not stubbornness that keeps us going. It’s faith! Christians go beyond mere optimism which hopes for the best into the realm of faith in God. They take hold of His promise and speak to the apparently unyielding situations saying, "It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit.  … Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in (the) way; it will become a level plain.” (Zechariah 4:6-7, NLT)

If you’re looking for ‘easy,’ don’t walk with God. The path of the godly is against the current, a calling for the courageous. Jesus was not reluctant to challenge. He invited the crowds to follow Him and then told them "anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?" (Luke 14:27-28, NIV)  When you’re making your estimates, remember to factor in your resources as well as expenses! Serving the Lord faithfully will demand much of you; courage, sacrifice, surrender. And God, the Holy Spirit, will be there with you, strengthening you for each new day.

Ready to call it quits? Before you do, bend your knees in prayer. Take a long walk alone. Ask for wisdom and insight that sees ALL of your options.

Here is a familiar word from the Word. "Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!" (Hebrews 12:2-3, The Message)

________________

Keep me true Lord Jesus,
keep me true,

Keep me true Lord Jesus,
keep me true. 

There's a race that i must run,

There's a victory to be won.

Every hour by Thy power,
I'll be true.

-      Anonymous