Give up! Why not?

It is so easy to give up! I have done it countless times. I gave up because I got tired of waiting. I got tired of trying again. I got tired of things not turning out how I expected. I got tired of hoping that whatever it was that I needed would finally happen. I got tired of praying without seeing any results in my favor. I got tired of trusting God. I got tired of having to start again. I got tired of feeling tired all the time. I gave up because I got fed up. I felt like giving up was so much easier than trying again or hanging on. I don’t know if you can relate.

I have felt the pain of loss and wanted to give up. I have felt the pain of rejection and wanted to give up. I have felt the pain of judgement and wanted to give up. I have felt the pain of depression and loneliness and wanted to give up. I have felt the pain of not being a full-time mom to my kids and wanted to give up. I have felt the pain of hurting others, especially my family and wanted to give up. I have felt the pain of being at the center of chaos and wanted to give up. I have felt the pain of being talked about and hated and wanted to give up. I have felt the pain of being so far in sin and despair that for a time I did give up.

Pain, even when self-inflicted, has a way of making you want to throw in the towel and give it all up. Pain has a way of seducing even the strongest of human beings to give it all up. There was a king in the Bible that wanted to give up. Let me share his words with you.

Psalm 13 NLT

1  O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?

    How long will you look the other way?

2  How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,

    with sorrow in my heart every day?

    How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

3  Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!

    Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

4  Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”

    Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

I don’t know if you ever felt like this, like I did, like King David did, or if you are feeling like this right now. Where it seems like all hope is gone. Like God has abandoned you, like you have been forgotten. I felt like this for many years. This Psalm was my life, LITERALLY! I was in such a deep abyss that I saw no wait out. I felt like I was dying from the inside out. I thought my life was going to turn out one way but then it didn’t. I was desperate, angry, humiliated and seemed to not have a bright future. But then I allowed God to step into my mess. He literally saved me from myself. I thought that giving up was the easy way out. But as it turns out,

giving up is what pushed further in the hole, further in my agony and further away from God.

Giving up is what the enemy of our souls wants us to do. You see the enemy doesn’t want you to tap into your purpose. The enemy doesn’t want you to take your position as God’s own, so he would have you and I believe that giving up is the best option.

I’m here to tell you that the best option isn’t in the giving up. Your best option is in the giving in to God. Is it easy? Absolutely, not. But it is worth it.

You will not find joy in giving up. You will not find peace in giving up, you will not find strength in giving up. You will not find a lifting up of what weighs you down in giving up. You will not find restoration in giving up. You will not find the fulfillment of your purpose in giving up. You will not find love in giving up. So where will you find all these things if it’s not in giving up? Only in God. Only in surrendering everything you are to Him. Yes, you will find your answers when you choose to trust Him. I have tried it all ladies! Nothing has given me everything that

I ever needed except a relationship with Jesus. In Him I not only found my survival, but I found life and because of that I can live fearlessly for Him.

King David didn’t end Psalm 13 at verse 4. He continued writing to God and this is what he said:

5  But I trust in your unfailing love.

 I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

6  I will sing to the Lord

    because he is good to me.

God is good, even when we are not. God’s love never fails, even when we do. It doesn’t matter what we have done, it doesn’t matter where we have been, it doesn’t matter where we are now, it doesn’t matter what we are doing now. Nothing, absolutely nothing can keep God from pursuing and loving us. God is the one that rescues!

So, why not give up? Because you are worth more! Because inside of you is a fearless woman that needs to rise and take her place in God’s perfect design for her life. Ladies, this is not the blog idea I had in mind for today. But as I sat down to begin writing, I looked at my notebook and saw a sticky note that I had written on about a month ago. I always have sticky notes at my desk because if I don’t write things down, I forget. Can anyone relate? On this little sticky note I wrote to myself, “Don’t Give Up ~ Psalm 13”. I’m sure I wrote it down to remind myself that giving up was not an option anymore. As I started typing this, I felt strongly that someone

needed to read these words. If this is you, I am praying for you! I am praying that you choose to trust God even if you are going through the bad and ugly. I am praying that you choose to surrender your all to God and allow Him to do something beautiful in you and through you. Because girl, someone out there needs to hear your story of redemption.

You were not created by God to give up! You were created by Him to be a fearless warrior who doesn’t quit, who won’t stop until she sees herself living in the purpose for which she was created.

Stop surviving. Start living and be fearless!

With Love,

Mimi