Ever had the overwhelming desire to just give up? I have those moments all the time, more than I care to admit. But why?
I grew up hearing a lot of negative things. So, after hearing it so much I began to believe it. So, my “tape” played the negative whenever I thought I could do something. There were a lot of times that I gave up before I even tried. Solos, team sports and essay contests all fell before I even tried. I knew I couldn’t, so why even try? Grades were average, never really applied myself. Why would I if I am stupid, right? Yes, I was told that frequently. I finally just started believing it.
Over the years, my negative mind tape played its tunes to me whenever I felt an opportunity to do something. If I discovered a hidden talent, I tried it. Eventually, I just gave up. Galatians 6:9 has come into my life and I now am working on storing it in my heart. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Let us not grow weary…if we do not give up. Hear that?? I grow weary because I listen to negative thoughts. I convince myself I can’t write, so I don’t.
Let’s think of it another way, what if Paul, Peter, or John listened to the negative thoughts and allowed them to control what they did or didn’t do? We would not have most of the New Testament. People would not come to know Jesus if they had not written the things they wrote. Now, how do we stop playing the negative tape. By listening to the positive things God gives us. This is not a boasting kind of positive thing. This is who we are in Christ. This is hearing something that your soul needs. This is God speaking to you.
Romans 15:7 “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” We are to accept each other. We are brothers & sisters in Christ. Does that mean we will live in harmony? No, families quarrel. But what it does mean is that we are to accept one another as they are, building each other up, not tearing them down. Do not destroy your brother with your words. A kind word goes a long way.
When you feel like giving up, read 1 John 3:1-2 “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” The first sentence alone should restore hope in anyone and destroy the negative tapes we all have in our mind.
We all feel like giving up from time to time. But instead of giving into those feels, turn those feelings over to God. He is our refuge, our strong shelter, and our rock. A life without God, is a life without hope. A life without hope, ends. Struggles happen, they test our resolve and they try our patience but that is because we try to make our life happen without including the One who can change everything. Instead of giving up, LOOK up.
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