To Quit or Not to Quit?

When we’re faced with a challenging situation or difficult trial, it can be tempting to quit. But persistence is a valuable characteristic to develop.

Most of us are familiar with the oft-quoted saying from Winston Churchill: “Never, never, never give up.”

Never?

The harder the trials we face, the more we try to wiggle out of them. We may give up on a goal or a decision as soon as we run into obstacles or face some opposition. Rather than struggle to fix the problem, we are often inclined to quit. The opportunities to do so are endless. Some even quit living Christianity because sometimes it is hard.

But does God want us to quit when we experience difficulties, or is there an opposite characteristic He wants us to build?

Let’s consider what the Bible says about godly persistence.

What does “never” mean?

The Scriptures give us many examples of godly persistence. Consider these two examples:

• The account of Jacob’s persistence as he wrestled with God when he was returning to Canaan: “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” (Genesis 32:26).
• The parable of the importuning widow in Luke 18:1-8. In the parable, she implored the “unjust” judge until he finally granted her justice.

In both cases, Jacob and the widow are used as positive examples of persistence and perseverance. Neither quit until the desired outcome was completely achieved. Sometimes this means holding the line and not budging when we are tempted to give up. At other times it may require a lot of action to stay the course.

The historian Josephus writes about courageous Phineas after he slew Cozbi and Zimri and stopped the plague upon Israel, saying, “He was of so great magnanimity, both in strength of mind and body, that when he undertook any very dangerous attempt, he did not leave it off till he overcame it, and got an entire victory” (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 4, chap. 6, sec. 12, emphasis added throughout).

Phineas understood the concept of never to mean “not until the job is finished.”

How a king fell short of “never”

Second Kings 13:14-19 relates an interesting and often overlooked account about Israelʼs King Joash and the prophet Elisha. King Joash was greatly distressed because Israel was being challenged by the Syrian armies. Meanwhile, Elisha was on his deathbed. Joash decided to visit Elisha and seek his guidance before his death.

Elisha instructs Joash to do something quite interesting. He instructs him to open the east window and shoot an arrow through it, which the king does. After this the prophet tells Joash to take up his arrows and “strike the ground” with them (verse 18).

Joash takes the arrows and strikes the ground three times and stops.

One can almost picture the king stopping, perhaps looking questioningly at Elisha, wondering: “Is that enough?”

Well, it was not “enough”!

Elisha got mad! It says “the man of God was angry with him, and said, ‘You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times’” (verse 19). Joash’s action was a halfhearted effort and incomplete.

The result was that Israel continued to be plagued by Syria until King Jeroboam II finally recaptured the cities previously lost to them.

The lesson for us: Will we make a halfhearted effort or will we persist with a full, wholehearted effort?

Quit or struggle?

Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

When faced with a choice of whether to persist in a situation, the first thing we need to ask ourselves is whether what we are pursuing is in line with Godʼs will. We should be able to answer that question by studying God’s Word to learn His will and seeking relevant counsel. Where God’s will is clear, we absolutely can’t give up and quit.

Some areas of life are not about right and wrong. But these areas also give us an opportunity to develop the characteristic of perseverance. God does not want a weak, limp sort of will in His people. He wants ardor, fervor, determination and courage—not quitters!

God tells us, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

For more insight into this subject, read our article “Diligence: Why Does God Prize It?”

Nancy Diraison is an East Texas member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. Writing everything from music to blogs is her favorite occupation!