This world can seem like a very negative place these days. The human experience as you and I intimately know it, or can witness in other people, often brings disappointment, discouragement, and disillusionment.
Even the most spiritually grounded among us can be vexed, dismayed and shocked by the suffering we experience, and we notice in other people. To exacerbate just living in this present world, Christians can become targets for trying to conduct their lives differently than those around them.
At times, we might wonder if it’s all worth it: bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people; we, and those we care about, suffer terrible setbacks economically; health problems seem to afflict us or those we love; we can be openly persecuted by people who don’t hold to our spiritual values.
Life can seem so difficult; people can be so inconsiderate and just plain cruel; often it may appear that God is nowhere to be found. Sometimes it can all be too hard for us, and we don’t think we can continue. Indeed, we may not want to continue.
Have you ever felt like giving up or quitting on living the way God called us to? It is not a good place to be when we want to give up on God, or decide to give up on people, or ultimately give up on our own self.
Though it is tempting sometimes, we must determine to never give up on God; we can never give up on people; we should never give up on ourselves.
In Hebrews 11:39-40, we find this (from The Amplified Bible):
“And all of these, though they gained divine approval through their faith, did not receive the fulfillment of what was promised, because God had us in mind and had something better for us, so that they, these men and women of authentic faith, would not be made perfect, that is, completed in Him, apart from us.”
Let’s move into the next chapter, Hebrews 12, and in verses 1 and 2 look at how we will be perfected with those named in the first resurrection:
“Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness, stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us…
“looking away from all that will distract us and focusing our eyes on Jesus, Who is the Author and Perfecter of faith, the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity, who for the joy of accomplishing the goal set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of God, revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work (as predicted in Psalm 110:1).
“Just consider and meditate on Him who endured from sinners such bitter hostility against Himself; consider it all in comparison with your trials, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart…”
The message from God to His people throughout time has been: “Things are going to get very difficult, and circumstances will often seem impossible to endure, but never, never, never give up!” Never give up on God! Never give up on people! Never give up on yourself!
We can work so hard at serving God and living at peace with everyone, and improving ourselves…and what do we generally see?
Those who work hard seem to get overshadowed by incompetent sycophants.
Foolishness and silliness are rewarded; good judgment and wisdom are ridiculed.
Bad people stand out and are promoted; good people are unnoticed and get demoted.
Awful things happen to good people; nice things too often happen to bad people.
And, of course, these circumstances can cause disappointment, discouragement and disillusionment. And we might think or even utter aloud, “What’s the use?” “It’s just not worth it!” “I give up!”
We might give up on God and deem Him as “unfair.” We may give up on all people and regard them as only selfish and evil. We can even give up on ourselves as being unworthy.
God is “Unfair”- Giving Up On God
Have we thought about “giving up on God” because we think He has been unfair in dealing with us or humanity in general.
The only human being in scripture who is called “a man after God’s own heart” pondered about God’s fairness in Psalm 10 (from the Moffatt Translation):
“Why are You standing so far off, O Eternal, hiding Thyself in desperate hours? The ungodly are haughty and harry the downtrodden – may they be snared in their own schemes!
“The ungodly boasts of his rapacity (or greedy heart); the plunderer disowns and despises the Eternal; he thinks in his insolence, ‘God never punishes’; his thoughts amount to this, ‘There is no God at all’; the dealings of justice high (from above) are far beyond his sight.
“Life for him is always stable; he laughs at any who oppose him, thinking he can never fail, never come to grief. His talk is all of perjury and craft, mischief and injury slip from his tongue.
“He lurks around hamlets, and murders innocent folk in secret, ever on the lookout for the hapless; he lies in ambush, like a lion in his lair, hiding to catch the weak and drag them off.
“He hunts the helpless till they drop, unlucky victims, in his clutches. And he thinks, ‘God has forgotten, He hides His face, He never sees.’”
Similarly, we might look at what goes on in the world around us – those who govern, people in the workplace, our school, within our family and even in the church – and conclude that God is unfair for allowing the wickedness that goes on and affects us.
Many we have known over the years may have looked at all this injustice and prosperity for the wicked and given up on God. We ourselves may have had to battle with our own thoughts of giving up on a God who seemed so far off and does not seem to do anything about these things!
David shared such thoughts in the scripture:
In Psalm 37, he asks, “God, why do the wicked prosper and live at ease?”
In Psalm 73, he muses, “I nearly irrecoverably slipped and gave up because of it.”
To paraphrase what David was expressing to God:
“Why am I trying so hard to live godly, when those who do not seem to gain wealth, get promoted or are allowed to harm others without penalty?”
“Why not just go with what seems to work in the world around us – disobedience, lawlessness, selfishness, etc.?”
“Why continue to serve a God who apparently allows the wicked to prosper, especially when it seems I am cursed?”
Quitting may be a temptation that sometimes overwhelms us, but if we do not give up on God, perhaps we will live long enough to understand what Paul wrote in Hebrews 6:9-10 (from the Phillips Translation):
“But although we give these words of warning, we feel sure that you, whom we love, are capable of better things [for example, ‘better’ than falling away – verse 6]and will enjoy the full experience of salvation. God is not unfair: He will not lose sight of all you have done nor of the loving labor which you have shown for His sake in looking after fellow Christians, as you are still doing.
“It is our earnest wish that every one of you should show a similar keenness in fully grasping the hope that is within you, until the end. We do not want any to grow slack, but to follow the example of those who through sheer patient faith came to possess the promises.”
God will never give up on us – Hebrews 13:5 states that He will never leave us nor forsake us – so we should never give on Him. Despite all evidence that seems contrary, can we believe what we find in Romans 8:18-25 (reading in Phillips)?
“In my opinion whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has in store for us. The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own.
“The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God’s purpose it has been so limited – yet it has been given hope. And the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God.
“It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail. And it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the spirit are in a state of painful tension, stress, anxiety, while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that we have realized our full sonship in Him.”
We should never, never, never give up on God, who not only blessed us with life in the first place but will finish creating His life in us: the good work He has begun in you and me!
All People Are “Evil” – Giving Up on Humanity
Have you and I been tempted to give up on people? All human beings will inevitably let you and me down! And do you know what else? We have let others down too! That is reality, but is that a reason to write off all people?
We have all been lied to, lied about, stolen from, suffered wrong and been harmed by other people we have known. We may have become disappointed, discouraged and disillusioned about all people. However, James 5:7 (in the Phillips Translation) gives us this wisdom:
“But be patient, my brothers, as you wait for the Lord to come. Look at the farmer quietly awaiting the precious harvest of his land. See how he has to possess his soul in patience till the early and late rains have fallen.
“So must you be patient, resting your hearts on the ultimate certainty. The Lord’s coming is very near. Don’t make complaints against each other in the meantime, my brothers – you may be the one at fault yourself. The judge Himself is already at the door.
Do we sometimes get offended or hurt by actions and words from workmates, schoolmates, friends, family and even fellow Christians? Do we want to give up on everyone because we believe that they will only continue to harm us?
Peter, to whom it was mentioned by Jesus that he should forgive his brother “seven times seventy times” for wrongs done (instead of giving up on that brother), expressed later what he came to understand about dealing with his fellow human beings – I Peter 2:11-16 (Phillips):
“I beg you, as those whom I love, to live in this world as strangers and ‘temporary residents’, to keep clear of the desires of your lower natures, for they are always at war with your souls.
“Your conduct among surrounding peoples in your different countriesshould always be good and right, so that although they may slander you as evil doers yet when troubles come, they may glorify God when they see how well you conduct yourselves.
“Obey every man-made authority for the Lord’s sake – whether it is the emperor, as the supreme ruler, or the governors whom he has appointed to punish evil-doers and reward those who do good service. It is the will of God that you may thus silence the ill-informed criticisms of the foolish.
“As free men you should never use your freedom as a screen for doing wrong but live as servants of God. You should have respect for everyone, you should love our brotherhood, fear God and honor the emperor.”
Peter goes on to teach that servants should serve even harsh masters with respect, to outline proper relationships between husbands and wives and to show how to deal with fellow Christians…to verse 8 of I Peter 3:
“To sum up, you should be of one mind living like brothers with true love and sympathy for each other, compassionate and humble.
“Never pay back a bad turn with a bad turn or an insult with another insult, but on the contrary pay back evil with good. For this is your calling – to do good and to inherit the goodness of God…”
We should never give up on our fellow human beings, who are created in God’s image and who share our potential to achieve God’s purpose in adding each of us to His family.
I Am Not “Worthy” – Giving Up On Me
Christians have a difficult dilemma: though the perfection of God, as demonstrated by Jesus Christ, cannot be attained in our form, we must constantly strive against our limitations to do just that: achieve “perfection.”
We are instructed to strive for the measure of the fullness and stature of Jesus Christ as the standard, but that kind of perfection seems impossible in our present form.
The Greek words for “perfect,” teleios or teleioun, must be understood as used in Hebrews 2:10 (and in Matthew 5:48 & Hebrews 11:40). Barclay’s The Daily Bible Study, gives us this:
“The basic meaning of teleios in the New Testament is always that the thing or person so described fully carries out the purpose for which designed. Used in the verb form – teleioun – it will mean not so much to make perfect as to make fully adequate for the task for which designed.”
Even so, is still a dichotomy in expectations: be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, yet we are constantly aware of how imperfect we are.
Year after year goes by and our faults, shortcomings and sins remain, and then we find new ones. We cannot see growth and we might become disappointed in our performance, discouraged about continuing in the Way, and disillusioned about what should have happened in five, ten, twenty or more years. We might throw up our hands and say, “I am not getting anywhere.” “What is the use of trying?” “I give up!!”
Realize that Jesus did not come to make us perfect human beings in the sense of what we think is perfect – flawless, immaculate, non-corrupt, unable to make mistakes. Rather, He came to show us the way to become complete in fulfilling God’s design objectives for us in creating us to be sons!
And there are sufferings involved in learning to be sons to fulfill that purpose (which Jesus experienced more than any who ever lived on earth); there are difficult mental or moral choices we must make to consummate our character – decisions that warrant salvation; we have to use rightly the crowning of glory and honor that makes us “fully adequate for the task for which we were designed.”
Meantime, while you and I draw breath in this life, Philippians 1:6 is a simple but elegant verse to remember (Phillips Translation):
“I am confident of this: that the One who has begun this good work in you will go on developing it until the day [return] of Jesus Christ.”
God has promised He will never leave you nor forsake you and me, so never, never, never give up on yourself!
When it comes to the good work that God has begun in you, you must never give up on you! And I must never give up on me!
Giving up on God, on people and on ourselves is never an option while we live in this fleshly state.
To “never give up” is just a way of expressing the quality of “endurance.” The ultimate admonition to ensure endurance is found where Jesus Christ describes the end of the age, with all its deception and wars and sorrows and persecutions and betrayals and lawlessness and lovelessness…Matthew 24:13:
“But he who endures [or never gives up] to the end shall be saved.”
This world is programmed, indeed has programmed us, to carry on as though God, if He exists, is unfair; that all people are evil; that we can never achieve the potential God designed for you and me.
Never give up on the God who gave us life and promises us eternity! Never give up on people who are created in God’s image to join His future family! Never give up on yourself in trying to live the way God has called us to!
