Don’t Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must – but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow –
You might succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt –
You never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So, stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.
Unknown –
The above poem from an unknown author is very sound advice. Most all desire to succeed in life, as is evidenced by how hard some folks work to be successful. But more importantly, all should desire to succeed spiritually. To fail in this realm has eternal consequences. We mustn’t ever think about quitting when it comes to our spiritual journey. The final reward only comes after we complete the journey. Jesus, in John 8:31-32, before the church was established, told the Jews of His day, the means whereby they could be freed from sin. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Only those who have obeyed the gospel are made free from sin through obedience to the Word of God, and have become Christians.
But we must also continue in truth. In Romans 6:16-18 the Spirit had Paul write to the church at Rome, and told them (and us) how the truth of which Jesus spoke makes one free. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. That “form of doctrine” is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
Colossians 2:12-13 clearly indicates that this obedience is baptism “into” Christ. Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened (made alive) together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; When they obeyed the truth, they had become free from sin.
The Holy Spirit had the penman to the Hebrews write of the importance of helping their brethren to remain faithful in Hebrews 3:12-13. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Sin is the failure to obey truth as James 4:17 informs. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Amazingly, some have quit after becoming freed from the bonds of sin having once “laid hold” on the promise of eternal life. In Luke 9:62, Jesus
said to one who made excuses even before the kingdom came: No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. 2Peter 2:20-21 was written to Christians after the church was in place and still applies today. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
Don’t quit! Press on! Your journey is not over. The reward awaits.
Dennis Strickland – Mooresville church of Christ
