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Dont give up too soon

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  • Originally published July 25, 2008 at 5:19 p.m., updated July 25, 2008 at 5:19 p.m.

The fastest way I know to get discouraged, is to assume that what you see is all there is or ever will be. For example, a man goes to work every day and says, “Nothing’s ever going to change in my job,” and the voice inside says, “You’re right. You need to quit this job and get a new one.”

Whatever the situation, there are times when we just want to quit. But the message I hope you’ll take away today is, “Don’t throw in the towel too soon.”

I don’t know your situation. I just know that many times, God allowed me to hit a low point not to make me quit, but to cause me to look away and look up and realize that He was working on something far bigger than my immediate circumstances.

Sometimes we need help as we move along this journey. That’s why God gives us special people who can both see beyond the obvious in our lives, and help us see what they see. A good example is the apostle Paul, the man who wrote most of the New Testament. Paul had a young co-worker named Timothy who was like a son to Paul. Paul trained Timothy, sent him to pastor the church in the ancient, pagan city of Ephesus.

Paul also knew that Timothy was timid, and tended to get discouraged. So when Paul heard that Timothy was, in fact, discouraged in Ephesus, Paul wrote two letters to encourage him – letters that we have today in the Bible as 1 and 2 Timothy. I want to outline briefly what Paul did to help Timothy see beyond his circumstances.

For one thing, Paul reminded Timothy that the “picture” of discouragement he was seeing in Ephesus wasn’t from God. God had called Timothy to Ephesus to reach people for Christ and build up the church, not to quit. Was it going to be tough at times? Of course. That’s why Paul told Timothy to “fight the good fight.”

Second, Paul reminded Timothy that he had been given spiritual gifts by God that made him equal to the task. God never sends us to do something without equipping us to do it. What Timothy needed was to put some new fire into those gifts and use them for effective ministry.

A third way Paul encouraged Timothy was with a needed jolt of reality. Here’s how I would paraphrase it: “Timothy, you’re upset because the people around you are too immature. But I’ve got news for you. The real problem is you’re too timid; you’re not being a good minister of Jesus Christ. Good ministers teach and develop people spiritually so they can grow. Timothy, you can quit and go to another church, but it’s not going to change the problem. You’ve got to get the right picture in your mind and heart, and stay with it to develop spiritually mature people.”

That’s putting it on the line. Are you discouraged with some circumstance or person today? Try applying these three basic principles to your own situation. One of more of them may work.

Pastor Jim Graff is the Senior Pastor of Faith Family Church in Victoria, Texas. www.faithfamilyvictoria.com.



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