June 04, 2010

Never Give Up


Have you ever felt like giving up?  Have you ever felt so tired and perhaps frustrated with circumstances that you wished you could just escape?  Everyone feels this way at some point or another.  But I think because of pressures in the world's economy, this mind-set is becoming more predominant.  There is a lot of desperation and unease for many people today.  And sometimes it is difficult not to get wrapped up in the concerns of this world.

Today I was looking for some encouragement and the thought "Never Give Up," came to mind.  Why?  Well because I've been through a lot lately and had been tempted to believe that giving up is easier and better for me.  Not give up on life, just on circumstances.  But I know it is a lie to believe things would be better. Everywhere in the Bible we are shown cases where christians who lived before us reached points in their lives where giving up and quitting seemed the only logical solution.  Elijah, Joseph, David, Esther, Job... the list goes on and on!

So I take comfort in knowing that feeling this way is not strange.  Its normal. Its human.  But as I thought about these examples I remembered how God was working circumstances to better their lives and always, after they struggled to hold on, God gave them over and beyond their wildest dreams.  I'm a firm believer that He loves to lavish us with his love and desires to fill our lives to overflowing.

But I can even see His goodness in nature. The Acacia tree to be specific.  This is a tree that is in the same family as legumes!  Beans! It is one of very few trees in the whole world that can grow and thrive in the most desolate environments.  The Acacia tree can be found in Africa, Israel, Iran, Australia, and Egypt.  It does exceptionally well in deserts.


But the secret to this tree's hardiness is not its branches or even the waxy leaves which help trap in water.  It is the roots of the Acacia tree that give it strength.  They run deep underground, in some cases 220 feet down! That's the equivalent of an 18 story building!  

Roots.  Anchors.  That is what we all need when life is hard. When everyone else around us is falling apart we should turn to God.  He has the water we need to survive and thrive!  The Bible encourages us to dig deep into His word.  What does that mean?  It means we need to have something to hold on to.  Something that will combat the negative thoughts in our minds. We need promises. We need examples.  The Bible has all of that and more.  And the Bible encourages us to never give up!  It teaches us that if we are close to God He will give us strength and wisdom to know where and how to take risks.

Sometimes we have to take a risk and do something that requires us to go forward in faith.  Even if it might not work. Why? Because sometimes doing nothing is the worst thing we could do.  And sometimes God uses those circumstances to help us grow and thrive just like the Acacia tree. :)

I have decided to do a study about the theme "Never Give Up" and I will be sharing my discoveries in the following posts.  I hope you will return to take the journey with me.  

And I apologize for such few and scattered posts of late. What have I been up to? Aiding my community. I am trying to help a small non-profit win a grant for their students. They have been trying since February and last month they nearly won! So I would like to ask anyone who has friends or family on other blogs, Facebook, and Twitter to join me in the tremendous effort.  All the money will go directly to the non-profit.
Simply vote for them once every day this month at this link: Helping Music Students.

God bless you and I look forward to sharing His insights with you in the following weeks!  Until next post, keep growing those roots!  Keep hoping... never give up.





2 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Many a time I've felt like escaping then I remember what I read in my self help books over the past 12 yrs when I lost 2 dear people within 2 months.
I have accepted what fate dealt me but some day every now and then something happens and for an instant I get negative,all is well at present.
Loved the post and also the pics.
Enjoy your week-end.
Yvonne.

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