Never Give Up

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. - Galatians 6:9  

NGU – Never Give Up!  

I know that I have written about this before, probably many times before, but it is something we need to hear over and over because the desire to throw in the towel can be pretty strong sometimes.  

Like when the unexpected happens. Or when what is expected does not happen. Or when nothing but bad things happen. Or when what is good does not happen enough. Or when there is a long delay in what is good and expected happens. Long delays are hard because you don’t know if you just wait a little longer then maybe what you want to have happen happens or maybe it won’t. You just aren’t sure, so you want to quit.  

NGU – Never Give Up! 

This is especially true when you are doing something good and important, and you are tired and frustrated, and you just want to stop. That’s when it is really important to keep going.  

Last week, I had the week off and hiked up to Moore’s Knob in Hanging Rock State Park. It's the trail with 684 steps. (I didn’t count them but that’s what the trail guides say.) It’s a good climb with big payoffs at the top. At the top, you can see miles and miles on a clear day, which it was the day I went. You can see Grandfather Mountain, Mount Mitchell, downtown Winston-Salem, and in this case, downtown Charlotte as well. It’s not an easy climb, and at some point you wonder if the stairs will ever end, and in the end, they do, at the top of the observation tower on the top of the Knob. Then you go, “That was worth it. I’m glad I didn’t quit. I am especially glad I didn’t quit before I even started, when I woke up early, and it was cold out, and it would have been much easier to sleep in. I’m glad I didn’t quit then.”  

It can be tempting to quit what God is calling us to do. It can be easy to quit before we even get started. It looks too hard, too scary, too uncomfortable, too far from what we want to do with the life He has given us.  

The apostle Paul, who certainly had multiple reasons he might have wanted to quit including being nearly killed, drowned, abandoned by his friends, and many other things, wrote to the churches in Galatia and encouraged them to not grow weary in doing good, because at some point in the future, the work would pay off, God will see it, and it will all work together for good. That’s a promise. In essence, he told them to not give up.  

So don’t give up. Don’t quit.  

Don’t give up on your marriage – your children – your God given dreams and callings. 

Don’t give up when you are tired. 

Don’t give up when you are discouraged.  

Don’t give up when no one notices the good you are doing.  

Don’t give up when you are not seeing results.  

Don’t give up when people or circumstances discourage you.  

Don’t give up – never give up – don't quit.  

God never quits on you, so never give up. He will be there at the end to cheer you on and beyond. So, never give up. Never ... Give ... Up! NGU!