“’Strike the ground.’ He struck it . . and stopped” 2 Kings 13:18 NKJV
“Sometimes, winning just means not quitting.”
My thoughts today are about times when it’s “too soon to quit.”
Today’s verse comes from an obscure but interesting Old Testament story. The King of Israel consults with the prophet Elisha about the threatening Syrian army. Elisha instructed the king to shoot an arrow to represent the “arrow of the Lord’s deliverance from Syria.” Then he was to strike the ground with the arrows. He struck the ground once, twice, three times, and then stopped. Elisha rebuked the king for stopping after three times, indicating he would also stop short of fully defeating Syria. Inwardly, he lacked resolve to persevere however long victory would require.
In the San Antonio Spurs’ locker room, Coach Popovich displays a quote to remind his team to never quit when competing: “When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” Jacob August Riis, 1849-1914.
Remember, in life it is always too soon to quit. You never know the moment or action when all your past efforts will bring you the success you intend in your endeavor. The Bible says, “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9 NKJV. Sometimes, winning means just not quitting.
The first place you may be tempted to give up is on yourself, then with others, and finally God. It’s too easy to do and sad when it happens; you quit dreaming, quit hoping, quit trusting, quit believing, and quit expecting. Life feels smaller and the future seems darker, less possible.
Anyone can feel like quitting; you are not the first to consider doing so. Moses gave up on himself even before he had begun, when he pleaded with God to send someone else. Exodus 3:10-13 NIV. Elijah wanted to quit so badly, he prayed for God to let him die. See 1 Kings 19:4 NIV. But you can’t afford to quit, especially when you most feel like doing so.
What makes you quit? Weariness, discouragement, failure, hopelessness, wasted effort, lack of help, inadequate resources, discouraging words, negative thoughts, or opposition – and any or all can combine to dishearten your continued effort. Sometimes, but not always, identifying the origin of your feelings can help you regain the desire and will to continue your task steadfastly. Always, you will not have to do so alone; God will strengthen your resolve. “For God is working in you, giving you the power to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.” Philippians 2:13 NLT. When your strength fails, draw from God’s ample power and indiscouragable will. Read Isaiah 40:27-31 NLT.
Highly value persistence, determination, perseverance, steadfastness, and patience in yourself. Others do! Develop a stubbornness of faith in God and yourself. That’s the attitude of the Kingdom of God. Jesus modeled such determination when He “set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem” – when He agonized alone in Gethsemane, yet resolved, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done!” – when He is described as, “Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, Who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising its shame and is not set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2-3 NKJV. The conclusion? “Consider Jesus . . lest you become weary and discouraged in your soul.”
My prayer today is that you find encouragement from God always.