The Temptation to Give Up
Speaker: Pastor Darin Browne
I spoke the other week about the temptation to settle short of what God wants for us. Today I want to share on the temptation to give up. I have had several very lousy weeks, and when you get battered enough, you just feel like giving up. This is my story…
I have for weeks been over stressed organising loans, building, meetings, outreaches, etc. My optometry practice is being forced to move, lots of stress there, and my ears blocked up so I couldn’t hear. Then my retinal camera broke, I had a replacement, which also refused to work. Then I knocked my iPad off a bench, and it smashed the screen to bits. Fiona’s mother is dying, perhaps in her last few days on earth. Stress upon stress, frustration upon frustration! I just wanted scream and run away! Turns out I’m not the only one to ever feel this way.
Psalms 55:4-8
My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.”
There are times I have just had enough of raging wind and tempest, and I want to give up, and fly away. Some of you are there right now. After this week, I feel qualified to speak on this temptation.
WHAT TEMPTS US TO GIVE UP?
Sometimes I just grow weary of doing good! So, sometimes I want to love and serve, but people and circumstances can be unforgiving at times. Sometimes the pressure builds until I just feel like running away. Here are some things that make us want to give up…
1: PAIN
Pain always makes things seem worse, as many of you can attest. Job certainly could…
Job 33:19
“Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones,
Being in chronic pain, especially pain without an apparent end or respite (so you know it won’t get any better), is a sure-fire way to be tempted to just give up.
2: REPEATED FAILURE
Psalms 37:23-24
The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.
Everybody fails, and everybody falls. But the Bible says, if you are righteous, the Lord will uphold you. I can attest to that. Failure is good, if you learn from it, so don’t let failure tempt you to give up. Repeated failure may make you feel like you want to give up, but it should make you stop and ask, “What can I learn?”
Psalms 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.” Let’s not be insane, failing repeatedly until we give up in disgust!
3: TIME
When things take too long, time can also cause you to want to give up. Some of you have been believing for a breakthrough, for a healing, for a relationship, faithfully waiting, and it has just taken too long.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
I like things to happen hastily, but apparently God doesn’t! When things take too long, it could be your impatience, or someone’s incompetence, but might just need God arranging things, moving the pieces, to bring His amazing will to pass.
4: OVERWHELM
Sometimes there is so much happening I just want to scream and run away. Maybe take a cruise for, say, two or three years. Perhaps visit the Whitsundays for a decade or so or maybe move to Victoria…Nah!
Psalms 61:1-2
Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,
Faint here is the Hebrew word ATAP, which means overwhelmed, made faint or feeble. When too many pressures pile upon you, even if they are good, your human mind can be simply overwhelmed. This is where I constantly live right now, and so do many of you.
5: WEARINESS
There are times when we are doing good and serving Jesus, but we just get weary. We care, we serve, we love, but we just get tired and are tempted to give up. Paul said…
Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
You can get weary doing good. It’s called compassion fatigue. But what does the verse say? It says that, in due season, you will reap a reward. So don’t give up, because the reward is coming, whether you feel it or not. The word for season is KAIROS, which refers to a God appointed time. If you are feeling weary, trust that God has an appointed time when the reward will come.
6: HOPELESSNESS OR DESPAIR
If you experience overwhelm, weariness or repeated failure, then this often grows into despair. Despair is when your hope dies or at least gets very sick. This is when you really feel the temptation to just give up, to run away, to collapse under the strain.
Hopelessness is a growing and a deadly problem in our world. If you listen to the news, you can have what little hope you have left decimated. Many people just exist today, because they have no hope. But no matter how grim or nasty your troubles might be, as Christians we can have hope, centred not in us but in Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.
Circumstances can cause us to give up if we are honest. But, to quote Winston Churchill speaking at his old school at Harrow, “Never give up. Never, never, never give up.”
When we are tempted to give up, we need a change our attitude?
CONQUERING THE TEMPTATION TO GIVE UP
“Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;” But David later writes…
Psalms 139:7-10
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
The thing is, as much as you’d like to run away, you can’t run from God! Some people feel so down, so ready to give up, that they take drastic steps to end the emotional pain. Eight Aussies a day take their own life because they feel they are devoid of hope. Suicide is a permanent solution a temporary problem. In Christ, we can have hope. We have His Spirit living within us. Life will go, troubles will go on, but your spirit lives on for eternity. If you are experiencing those thoughts, don’t try and tough it out alone, get some help. We can put you in touch with those who can help. God gives us hope!
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
So here are some things we can do when we feel close to giving up.
1: GET SOME REST
This is a simple, practical step. Sometimes we just need to rest. Go to bed instead of watching TV, take time off work and responsibilities if you can. Jesus still says…
Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is to have a rest. Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal then collapse and got depressed, so God fed him by ravens and let Him rest under a vine.
2: SHARE THE LOAD
I notice that when I’m having a hard time, I tend to isolate, to tough it out alone. Realise that you were never destined to carry your burdens alone. That’s why we have church, to share the load.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!
So, if you feel like giving up, talk to someone today. See me, connect with our inner healing team, have a coffee with a friend, because we can help each other to stand!
3: SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE
When you take time out to reconnect your soul to God, you can stop, step back and see the bigger picture. And there is a bigger picture! God is still on the throne, and still in control.
Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.
See the bigger picture, that God is for you, not against you. Understand that whatever you face right now, good or bad, is under God’s sovereign control, so trust Him!
Ecclesiastes 7:14
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
4: FIND SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO
If you’re tempted to give up, find something positive to look forward to, then work towards that blessing. The light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train, it’s a blessing, coming your way. Even small blessings can help. Plan a weekend away, take your spouse out on a date, have a movie night, have an arvo at the beach. Paul said…
Philippians 3:13-14
But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Have goals, have things you are shooting for, have things to look forward to and then go for them, because when you have a hope, it is easier to keep going.
5: FIND SOME PEACE
When really stressed and frustrated this week, I chose to sit outside on our verandah and just find peace in God. I prayed, I poured out my heart, I read the Word, and found peace in Him, my source of peace. I felt the frustration ebb away.
Philippians 4:6-7
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Do whatever you need to do to seize that moment of peace. This week God gave me…
Isaiah 26:3
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
During trial, troubles, pain and frustration, God gives true, deep peace, it much troubled mind is stayed on focused on Him. Jesus said…
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
WHAT YOU FOCUS ON DETERMINES YOUR DESTINY
Ultimately, you can choose what you focus on, and that chooses your destiny. So many people I know, especially when they get run down and feel like giving up, focus on the problem. They can find a problem for every solution, but that’s not what God tells us to focus on.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Think about the blessings, the goodness of God, the joy of knowing Jesus, and knowing each other. Here’s another athletics illustration from Paul…
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
We must stop looking at past failures, or successes, stop looking at those around us, and fix our eyes on Jesus, just as He fixed His eyes on His mission, the cross. You cannot drive a car looking in the rear-view mirror or the side windows, you must focus your attention ahead, through the windscreen. What you focus on determines your destiny.
KEEP REJOICING THROUGH THE TRIALS
Hebrews 13:15
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
The Bible talks about a sacrifice of praise, and when all around is grim, and you are tempted to give up, it really is a sacrifice! This week, I didn’t want to praise, I wanted to scream and cry and walk out. Yet I had a song going around and around in my head, “The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength” driving me batty! But when I gave in and turned to the Lord, He gave me perfect peace in the middle of the mayhem. The peace that passes all understanding, that could guard my heart and mind, quieting it, soothing it, subduing it, to bring every thought captive to the Holy Spirit. And the joy came!
Habakkuk was an Old Testament prophet who saw his nation torn apart by an evil enemy. He saw death and destruction, as rebellious Israel were conquered and abused by the wicked Chaldeans. He wrote three chapters of miserable complaint to God and was on the brink of giving up. At the end of the book, we see the glimmer of faith shine through…
Habakkuk 3:17-18
Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
If you are nudging towards giving up, it’s time to fix your eyes on Jesus. Today make the choice to rejoice!