Don't Quit
Don’t Quit
“Stay with God! Take heart. Don’t quit. I’ll say it again: Stay with God.” (Psalms 27:14 MSG)
The great advantage of age is experience. The great advantage of walking with Christ for several years is experience. The great advantage of experience with Christ is a sense of peace that comes when all is dark, or all seems to be impossibly bad. My experience with Him tells me that I should never quit believing in Him and hoping in Him no matter the hill I must climb. He has given me every reason to not quit, for He is working things out in some way, and I can trust His plans. Why is this? My experience with Him tells me that He is trustworthy. But what about those of you who have not had the experience with Him that I’ve enjoyed? Let me comfort you by saying that my experience didn’t come pre-wrapped and downloaded to me. I had to stay the course and not quit to get it. Not quitting often requires taking only the next step in front of us. We can’t see far down the road, and if we try to it is often seen as an impossible journey ahead. Nothing but roadblocks and uncertainty stand in our way. Dismal … gloomy … discouraging. Sound familiar? Some of you may be there now. If so, listen to my encouragement. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Don’t give into only your own perception of what must be done, for it to be right for you. There are other plans … better plans … and God’s plans for you are best. Will you trust Him right now? Will you trust Him in this present darkness? Read this passage and take its assurance to you: “even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” (Psalms 139:12 ESV) Yes, to you it may seem that you are surrounded by darkness. But God sees through your darkness. He sees the pitfalls in your path, and if you will seek Him and obey Him He will walk you around them. Yes, it seems there is no end to this darkness and no end to the obstacles. Even so they are nothing for Him to conquer for you. You must not quit believing and hoping and seeking Him. This is the time that you are learning perseverance and being given your own experiences. There is no short-cut to gain it. This is where you find it, … in the dark night of the soul. Before long you will look up and see clear skies again. It will come. If you put your hope in Jesus and not quit on Him, you can be assured that He will never quit on you, and He will lead you through this dark time. You will look back and see that He was faithful and you needed to learn this first hand. From that point on you will not live with theoretical faith but rather experiential faith. You will then find a peace that has been evading you. You will find a peace under all circumstances because you did not quit. Please remember. This is very important:Don’t Quit!