Don't Give Up!

I’m not sure if you have ever felt this way, but there have been times in my life where I have felt like giving up. It’s usually when I feel discouraged or something has hindered me in such a way, that I think that it isn’t worth the effort.

It has become very easy to quit today. I mean honestly, if you quit your job we just go and find another one. If the meal isn’t like we planned, we just throw it in the trash and go out to eat. And if the game we are playing isn’t going our way, we just hit the reset button.

However, there are other things that we often quit or give up on. Today, we find that many are giving up on relationships, others are giving up on church, and sadly, many are giving up on God.

It is easy to become frustrated in our spiritual walk, especially when we feel like we are attacked by the enemy all the time. And so people begin to follow the old expression, if you can’t beat’em, join’em.

Going back to a worldly lifestyle is definitely not the desire God has for your life. And what we find is that God gives us reminders throughout the scripture that he is there for us, and he doesn’t want us to give up.

And today that is what we find in our text, so, please read along with me.

Isaiah 41:10–13 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: They shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: They that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, Saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”

I will be the first one to admit, there have been times where I have felt like I should just give up on my job, my marriage, and on God. But praise the Lord, God never gave up on me.

And because God never gave up on me, I didn’t give up on my marriage. I didn’t give up on my job. And I didn’t give up on my walk with the Lord.

This passage serves as a reminder to us here today, that God is here for us. Now I like watching super-hero movies. And there is a line in one of the Captain America movies that I just love. Captain America is facing his longtime friend who is fighting for the bad guys, and he is trying to get him to remember who he is. And as they are facing off, Captain America who refuses to fight him, says to his old friend “I am with you to the end of the line”

You know, that is exactly how God looks at us. He is with us to the end of the line. Now that is exactly what he told us here. And I want you to notice these remarks that God makes, that we need to remember each and every day. Of why we should not give up on God.

The Strength God Provides

Now Israel had endured some hard times, they had outside nations looming down on them. They had people within the country making life difficult.

All around them, it seem like everyone else was prospering, but life for them was becoming more difficult.

And the people of the nation were struggling in their faith. They interpreted hard times as a reason to give up on their faith and start living like the rest of the world.

An in essence they were giving up on God. But God hadn’t given up on them.

They had allow fear and dismay to cause them to question their relationship with the Lord.

What was happening the people were being intimidated by the enemy. And the enemy has a vicious bark. And it put fear into the hearts of the people.

And that is what the enemy still tries to do to us today. That if he can scare us, intimidate us, to bring a spirit of fear on us, that he knows that we will just give up.

But God didn’t call us to be afraid. God knew the enemy had no strength to oppose him. You see we serve an omnipotent God.

And you know what that means? It means that there is no one that can oppose our Lord.

Now the enemy works the same way as he did on the Israelites. He barks and growls at us. He roars and snarls. But friend he’s got no teeth.

Oh, he is intimidating to look at and to listen too, but at the end of the day, he has no power over the believer. And here is the reason.

Because we serve a God who is our strength. God tells us and reminds us that he is our strength.

And my God isn’t weak. Oh, the enemy might say that Jesus he got nailed to a cross. But what they don’t realize is that Jesus died and went and defeated death, hell, and the grave.

What they don’t realize when they blow with their storm of despair, is that Psalm 18:2 “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”

You see the enemy is weak compared to God.

The Security God Proclaims

The Sanctuary God Presents