3 May 2023 - Never give up

Jesus clearly stated that in this life we will have tribulation, trouble, pain and distress but that we can and should be courageous, confident, and joyful because He has overcome the world.

Matthew 10:22 (MSG) But don’t quit. Don’t cave in. It is all well worth it in the end.

James 1:12 (CEV) God will bless you, if you don’t give up when your faith is being tested. He will reward you with a glorious life, . . . 2 Corinthians 4:8b (TLB) but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit.

We are children of God; we don’t give up. We don’t quit! Paul repeats these words over and over: We never give up! 2 Corinthians 4:1 (CEV) God has been kind enough to trust us with this work. This is why we never give up. and again in 2 Corinthians 4:16 (MSG) So we’re not giving up. How could we!. You were made to succeed in a magnificent way.

1 Corinthians 1:9 (MSG) He will never give up on you. Never forget that.

2 Timothy 2:12a (CEV) If we don’t give up, we will rule with him.

Psalm 27:14 (MSG) Stay with GOD! Take heart. Don’t quit. I’ll say it again: Stay with GOD.

2 Corinthians 1:9–10 (MSG) It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NLT) That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

In this passage Paul reveals the secret of Christian endurance. Here are three reasons why we never give up:

1. We experience life in the midst of death – Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.

2. We see glory at the end of suffering - they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them

3. We fix our eyes on eternal reality - but the things we cannot see will last forever.I conclude with these words: “Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” - Harriet Beecher Stowe