As we live between Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday, I find myself reflecting on the oratory skills of Sir Winston Churchill. As I think of this extraordinary war time leader there are many quotes that quickly spring to mind:

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” “Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts.” “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

Whether Sir Winston Churchill would have thrived or survived in our current political climate where there is constant media intrusion and 24:7 coverage would make for an interesting conversation! What I suspect we would all agree on might be his ability to encourage a nation to keep going in the face of great adversity and to “never give up.”

I wonder whether we have ever wanted to give up on something? Maybe we’re at the end of our rope with our dream, career, marriage, friendships, parenting or finances. I suspect we have all been there at some time or another. When we find ourselves ready to give up, we only really have two options: to get up and keep going or stay down in discouragement. 

When we’re in a sink or swim situation, I want to encourage us to determine in our hearts to be swimmers! 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 in The Message says,

“So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times; the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”

Even when everything seems to be falling apart, Scripture tells us that God is ‘making all things new.’ That means that there is more ahead of us than what is behind us. So, let’s learn to look at our circumstance with the eyes of faith and remember that God is always working on our behalf behind the scenes. 

Let’s not give up but get back up and remember that God’s grace is sufficient in our weakness. Let’s lean into Him more than ever before and watch as He renews our strength and restores our hearts. 

Give whatever you want to give up on in life, into the Hands of God and ask Him to bring it back to life. He promises to work all things together for good for those who love Him.