Just Don’t Quit

I read this poem recently and I think it is brilliant. Sometimes we just want to give up. It feels like other people just don’t seem to understand. Yet we must NEVER give in. I read this poem from a Christian perspective and believe God is always with us. He promises never to leave us. Yet this poem is not specifically religious. It can be applied to any person in any situation.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don’t quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When you might have won had you stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Isn’t it just so true? How many times do we look back on a situation and think about how it could have worked out if we’d have just kept going? No matter what is in our lives at the moment we must keep pressing on towards our goal and never stop. God promises to carry us when we are at our lowest.

When Jesus was crucified He could have asked angels to lift Him off the cross at any time. He could have saved Himself. But He didn’t. He did not give in because there was a purpose to His suffering. He did it so that we could know once and for all that we have a saviour. He is our saviour. We have a God who would give His absolute all so that we can have new life.

The disciples at this time were also going through terrible times. They had spent three years in Jesus’ company-loving Him, following Him, giving Him their all. Suddenly, that was all taken away. They were devastated. They were full of grief and must have had loads of thoughts about what they were going to do next. Would they go back to the families they had left behind? Would they stick together? Would they travel telling others about Christ? So many possibilities. Yet through their grief and confused thoughts they did not give in. They did not quit. They followed their calling as Jesus’ disciples. On Easter Sunday Jesus physically appeared to them to fulfill the prophecies but also to strengthen and reassure them. In His presence they were restored and strengthened.

It is the same with us. We must rest in His presence when we feel like everything is getting on top of us. God is more powerful than anybody or anything on this earth or in the heavens. Do you not think He will help you? If God can name every star in the whole of His creation do you not think he can name your mountain and remove it? More importantly, do you not think you can do it? Jesus tells us that we can do all He did and more. If God wasn’t able to give up when everything was against Him we can’t either. We have His all powerful and redeeming strength and we can move the mountains in our life with His help.

We must follow Jesus’ example as well as His disciples’ example. We must not quit. Just trust in Him, rest a little if necessary, and come back even more persistent that you WILL succeed.