Not Giving Up When You Think You Must

There comes a time in all our lives when the pace of life overwhelms us to a point where we either consider or decide upon giving up.

Whether life is structured in such a way as to be chaotic or not is, in some ways, beside the point. We can decide to restructure our lives where we have control, but where we don’t, we need to make the best of a poor situation. And poor prospects diminish and trash our hope.

Apart from being assertive enough to say no to things that we are committed to but we don’t need to do, we need encouragement to not give up when we think we must. Such a challenge is the material of faith.

Drawing upon Wisdom and Courage

Just as it takes wisdom to discern what we are purposed to do and what we aren’t, it takes courage to say no, on the one hand, and to keep stepping forward on the other.

Once our decisions are made all we need is the courage to act and continue acting.

If we are committed to the things we are troubled by, our commitment will convict our courage, and we will have the strength, somehow, to continue on. Others may see this strength and marvel.

Drawing upon wisdom and courage is always inspirational to others, but we ourselves may not notice because we are too close to stressful matters.

If we can pray, asking God for the courage to act and continue acting, God will give us the faith to do just that. By praying we have the opportunity of surrender; to give ourselves over, in a fresh way, to God. Indeed, the very act of praying is an act of surrender, because we are communing and in communing we admit we cannot do this thing on our own.

That can be an enormous relief.

Drawing upon wisdom and courage is sharing our plight with God and trusted others, with the intent of listening for the later mode of application.

We seek help so we can act, and in acting we derive empowerment.

The Moment God Comes Through for Us

About the time we are to break, and perhaps then some, the Lord comes through for us, often in the most surprising of ways.

It is a biblical truth (Psalm 30:5) that we may be so forlorn that we might weep ourselves to sleep, and then be surprised to experience a spiritual relief upon awakening.

When we hold out for God in our faith, we give the Lord of our lives ample opportunity to intervene. We don’t hold God to ransom, and God will not rescue us before time. But we are to be encouraged that God comes to deliver us just in time. We know this as we look back and consider his faithfulness.

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When things get the point of overwhelming us there is nothing better than faith. Faith takes us just one more step, and then one more, and so on. With faith we can keep going, but wisdom inevitably tells us when to stop. We need the right balance of faith and wisdom.

© 2013 S. J. Wickham.