What does the Bible say about giving up?

The next place we find it is in Gal. 6:9. "Let us not be weary in well doing," or, as Mr. Darby renders it, "Let us not lose heart in doing good." It is so easy to lose heart in doing good. That poor soul you helped out the other day, later proved to be a crook, and not in need at all, and you vowed you will not be taken in as easily again. No, no; let us not be discouraged; let us not give in to evil. Next time you may turn away somebody really in need: and "whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard." (Prov. 21:13). Or that Sunday School class that is so noisy and unruly! It seems to be useless to try and go on with them. You are desperate, as old Dr. Cremer translates the word. Give it up! It's not worth trying any longer!

I once did that. I once had a desperately bad Sunday School, and at the advice of an older brother, I gave it up. About three weeks later I met one of the children on the street, and she said "Oh, why did you give up the Sunday School? I wanted so much to know I was saved. I think I would have found the Lord the very next Sunday: but I had to go somewhere else, and there I found the Lord." Another time an old brother urged that I should give up some children's work that the Lord had opened up. I was much perplexed, and went for advice to another old brother: and to my amazement he said: "Take on more work of that kind; but never give up! All giving up is of the devil." That was more than fifty years ago, but how often have I thanked God for those words. Dear Mr. Herbert Taylor, Mr. Hudson Taylor's eldest son, once told me that he was at one time so discouraged that he said to his father, "Father, I'm so discouraged, I'm going to give up." His father replied, "All discouragement is of the devil!" God is "the God of all encouragement." (2 Cor. 1:3: New Translation). No, Beloved, God's Word is clear. "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." (A different word).

This should encourage the heart of the believer in the midst of all the trials of the present scene. Often now the foot has to be placed on the neck of some cherished object; often has the knife to be applied to what our poor hearts naturally cling to; but the path will end presently in bliss and glory, where the divine life in us can develope itself without alloy. Thus the apostle exhorts; "and let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Gal. 6:9). The hands must not be allowed to hang down, however earnestly the heart may suggest it; every good work must be steadily pursued until the Lord Jesus comes. The "due season" is not far distant; then joy will crown the servant's toil. We need especially to remind each other of this now. Latter-day service for Christ is often deeply discouraging in many respects, and the worker is apt to faint on the road or give up in despair. Courage, brethren! the Lord is at hand.

(Vv. 7-10.) The Apostle now adds a solemn warning. He illustrates the government of God in our pathway through this world by the figure of sowing and reaping. Let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that, because we are Christians by the grace of God, we shall escape the results of our folly while in this life. "God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap." On the one hand, if we act in the flesh, we shall suffer, however much the mercy of God may mitigate the suffering when the failure is judged. On the other hand, to act in the Spirit will carry its bright reward not only down here but in the life everlasting. Therefore, "Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." In the presence of opposition and conflict we may faint, seeing little result of "well doing" we may grow weary, but let us press on, waiting God's "due season." "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goes forth and weeps, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him" (Psalm 126:5-6). Let us then seek to embrace every opportunity to "do good to all men, especially to them who are of the household of faith."

"Men ought always to pray, and not to faint." (Luke 18:1). So reads our good old Authorised Version, and it is not a bad translation of the word at all. That word 'to faint' is en-kakein, formed from the word kakos, 'cowardly.' (Abbott-Smith). But from 'cowardly' it came to mean anything that was 'bad, mean, base,' for to the Greeks cowardice was all that. The first part of the word, en, means 'in.' The whole word taken together we may say means literally, "Give in to evil." (See Robertson). We find it translated by such words as 'faint', 'lose heart', 'be discouraged', 'turn coward.'

The evil about us is so strong, the battle is so fierce, and the result seems so hopeless, the sides appear so unequal; that, as we pray, we are tempted to say in our hearts, if not with our lips, It is hopeless, it is no use praying any more for that person: I'll give up. No! the Lord says, No! Do not give in! Do not lose heart! Do not be discouraged! Do not turn coward! In due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (But this 'faint' is a different word; perhaps, God willing we will look at it some other time).

What three little words could be more blessedly descriptive of the Christian than these I not "faint, and sitting down;" "not faint, and giving up;" but, "faint, yet pursuing." We have to do with Him who "giveth power to the faint." (Isa. 40:29.) "To them that have no might He increaseth strength." It is a blessed use to make of our faintness and weariness, that of drawing out of the fulness of the supply of grace and strength in Christ. It is said, "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might;" but to whom? To the one who has no strength in himself, who would give up his course if strength were not supplied to him. One victory achieved, the conflict goes on afresh. Do we find ourselves fainting in spirit? Still let us go on; for our God giveth strength to the weak. We like not this trial of faith. It is very painful, doubtless, to feel day after day our own weakness. We want to feel that the battle is over; but let us remember that now is our time of war. We are called on to fight "as good soldiers of Jesus Christ," and that in a daily round of conflicts. Today there has been sufficient grace and sufficient evil, and tomorrow there will be sufficient grace and sufficient evil. What we need is to live day by day on God. He is faithful, and will supply strength according to the occasion and need. The Church will not be at rest till the Lord comes. But weakness ought to be no hindrance to our going forward - "faint, yet pursuing." It is a sad thing to be a spiritual sluggard - for a saint, like a door on its hinges, never to get off himself. The moment a person has learnt to renounce himself, he goes forward. Were felt weakness a reason for standing still, who so weak as Gideon?

He went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree, and he requested for himself that he might die. It is not but what we see the man of God, but still the man who was tired of life. That was not a feeling of faith. There is very often much more faith in being willing to live than in wishing to die. Wishing to die is not the proof of faith at all. I grant you that no man that knows what death is, that knows what judgment is, that knows what sin is, that knows what God is, could wish to die unless he knew the Saviour. But having known the Saviour we may wince under the trial to which we are exposed in this world. Elijah did, and he wished to die, wished to get out of the trial — certainly a most unbelieving wish. The Lord never did. And there was the perfection of it. If the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane had wished to die it would have been the same failure. It could not be, and God forbid such a thought, but on the contrary the perfection of the Lord Jesus was that He did not wish to die — "Not my will, but thine be done." On the contrary, He felt death, and He felt the gravity. I grant you, there was all the difference between the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and that of any other. In any other case death is a gain. Death to a believer is gain, but still we ought not to wish to gain till the Lord's time comes for it. We ought to wish to do His will, the only right wish for a saint. He said, "It is enough; now, O Jehovah, take away my life." He was impatient. "Take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers." Yet he was running away from Jezebel. He was vexed; he was unhappy. He now fails after his testimony. He, was miserable now, but after all he wanted not to die when Jezebel wanted to take his life, and now that he is here he wants to die.

People say, “I see you believe in that old Baptist doctrine of ‘once in grace, always in grace.’” Or another says, “I understand you hold that old Presbyterian idea of ‘the final perseverance of the saints.’” I do not know why this should be called either Baptist or Presbyterian, only to the extent that Baptists and Presbyterians agree with the Book, and the Word of God clearly shows that once God takes us up in grace nothing can separate us from the love of Christ so that evidently the expression, “once in grace, always in grace,” is a perfectly correct one. But, on the other hand, I am not so enthusiastic about the other expression, “the perseverance of the saints.” I believe in it; I believe that all saints - all really belonging to God - will persevere to the end, for the Book tells me, “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13), and if a man starts out and makes a profession but gives it all up, he will never be saved, because he was never born again to begin with, he was never truly changed by grace divine. On the other hand, the reason he endures to the end is not because of any particular perseverance of his own. What I believe in, and what the Word of God clearly teaches, is the perseverance of the Holy Spirit. When He begins a work, He never gives up until it is completed. That is our confidence.

Turning now to the other side, it is beautiful to see the Lord's tender care over His servant in his despondency, and the way in which He dealt with him to prepare him for further service. Elijah had now but one desire, and that was to die. With darkness within and without, he moaned out his request, "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers." Not yet will the Lord reply to the prophet's prayer; but rather, in His infinite tenderness and compassion, He will minister to the needs of His poor servant to enable him to receive His correction and instruction. An angelic messenger came where Elijah was sleeping for very sorrow, "under a juniper tree," and "touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat." In like manner the Lord Jesus, when about to probe the heart of Peter, said to him, and to the other disciples with him, "Come and dine." He would give him a proof of His tender love before He laid bare the cause of his failure. So here; and when Elijah, after haying eaten and drunk, laid him down again, the angel of the Lord came the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee." The prophet, obedient to the heavenly voice, arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

So far we have the preparation of the prophet for what was to follow. Having arrived at Horeb, and taken up his lodging in a cave, he is instantly encountered by the word of the Lord, putting the searching question, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" There are seasons when the Lord says to His servants, "Come … apart into a desert place, and rest a while"; but if they betake themselves into the desert, without a word of command from their Master, they must expect to be challenged. The whole question raised is this: Is apparent want of success a justification for abandoning the post of duty? The answer is: The Lord alone has the title to determine the place of service and the time of the servant's withdrawal. It is helpful to remember this, as it aids in keeping the eye of the servant "unto the hand" of his Lord. Elijah, no longer "standing before" the Lord God of Israel, had forgotten this principle, and consequently he pleaded his failure in service, as sufficiently accounting for his presence at Horeb. He had been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts; the children of Israel were all transgressors, had cast down Jehovah's altars and slain His prophets, and Elijah only was left, and his life was now in danger! What a picture of despondency and unbelief! In his darkness of soul he had forgotten that the mighty power of God had so wrought with him that he had slain Baal's prophets, and that the people, awed if not convinced, had confessed that Jehovah was the God. When doubt and fear master the soul every ray of light is extinguished, and difficulties are magnified a thousandfold.

We are sometimes so borne down with our own crosses and difficulties, and by the distractions that we find coming upon others personally and ecclesiastically, that to a certain extent the spirit of despair takes hold of us; and, looking at things within, and our own inefficiency, our own lack of competency, our own inability to clear away the things that oppose our onward march, and then again, counting the foes that encounter us, and the strength of the difficulties which surround us, we feel that all these things which are against us are too many for us. We bow our heads and think that we must give up. And so we might well give up if we had to fight the battle in our own strength, if we had to hold fast by our own energy, if there was none to stand by us, if there was none to impart to us the needed grace for the moment.

Shammah "remained behind." Shammah "endured." There are, perhaps, few things more difficult than to endure. When others have given up, to remain behind, is not easy. I suppose Shammah's friends and fellow-soldiers told him it was hopeless, it was certain death to stay where he was, and anyway for a field of lentiles (in the Chinese Bible it is "red beans") it was not worth remaining behind. I expect David had given that field of lentiles to Shammah to defend. And you and I have been given a field of lentiles to defend, in the midst of which 'great David's Greater Son' has placed us. Our field of lentiles may be our home, or the office, or the shop; it may be the little feeble company of two or three gathered to our Lord's own Name, that others have despised and forsaken for something greater and more attractive. Our field of lentiles may not seem worth defending, and we may feel like giving up, or perhaps we are turning our eyes to fields that seem to us more attractive, and more worth while. Let us remember Shammah. who remained behind when the others fled. Let us endure, as he endured.

Our God is called "The God of Endurance"; "The God of Endurance and Encouragement." (Rom. 15:5, New Trans.) Many years ago some kind friends were urging a young man to give up some work the Lord had given him to do. He went in his perplexity to a dear old brother. He will never forget the way he exclaimed: "Give up? All giving up is of the devil!" Yes, our God is "the God of Endurance."