There are times when nearly everyone feels like giving up and quitting. It might be due to circumstances beyond our control or perhaps due to poor choices we have made and are now suffering from. Regardless, life is not a flowery bed of roses all the time. If you are so young you haven't learned that yet, you will in time. There are going to be mountain peaks and deep valleys throughout life. Life is a continual battle. There will be times of sweet rest, but more trouble will come. This is true for individuals, families, and even congregations.

It's been said before: "If you are in a hole and then lie down, that puts you even further down. If you stand up, at least you are nearer the top." This is a good thing for all of us to remember. The fellow who lies down and quits will never make it. It is certainly the case that a quitter never wins. We must keep pressing on!

May we dedicate ourselves to striving to serve God with life, energy, and enthusiasm. If we feel like giving up, we must motivate ourselves all the more to keep going. Victory could be just around the corner. The apostle Paul is a great example of this attitude. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13,14 - "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Furthermore, consider the persecution Paul endured for the name of Christ:

"In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils of the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness--besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches" (II Cor. 11:23-28).

Paul suffered so much yet he wasn't soured on the world. He had no intention of quitting. He had a sweet disposition even while writing from prison, instructing Christians to rejoice in the Lord. This does not come from the pen of a man who has given up on the world but from one who has victory in his heart! They could persecute and almost kill him but it wouldn't be very long until he would be going strong again. Thank God for his noble life and wonderful example! Let us follow in his steps as he followed the Christ (cf. I Cor. 11:1).

"But Stephen, it was easier for Paul to keep going when he knew he was doing the right thing. What about when one has made a mess of his life through sin?" The simple answer is to let Jesus get it straightened out for you. He is the cure for the weary soul; there is healing in His wings (cf. Matt. 11:28-30). The wrong thing to do is to just give up and remain in your sins. Sometimes folks think that what they've done can't be gotten over. So they give up and surrender to Satan. That's exactly what he wants! There is not a problem in your life for which Jesus is not the answer. You must obey His gospel and continue in His will. No matter what wrongs you've committed, you can still be a great blessing to this world by turning your life over to God.