Why You Shouldn't Give Up

It can be easy to see failure as an indicator that you're not good enough to do the task. When your path is full of consistent failure and slow progress, it is hard to have a reason to not give up. At what point should you give up? There might be a million reasons of why you should give up, but there is one good reason to not give up that will push you forward.   

It was a Friday evening and I was exhausted from a busy week of work. Not only was my exhaustion coming from my job, but a huge part of it came from the failures I experienced that week. 

I've been trying to commit myself more into prayer and started scheduling in my daily calendar to wake up extra early to spend some alone time with God. Did I end up disciplining myself to wake up earlier to pray? 

No.

At the same time, I was struggling with some things that God has requested me to let go of. Was I able to let go of those things?

No. 

There were days when I had the opportunities to show God's love and patience, but I blew it. Sure, I have changed a lot since last year, but until now I still haven't been able to walk in perfect obedience to God. As much as I desired to be the person whom God has called me to be, I just wasn't that person. 

I knew who God was calling me to be, and I had goals to reach my calling, but my failures and slow progress only told me that I wasn't good enough to reach them. 

In the midst of my burdened heart, I ran into a post online from Proverbs 31 Ministries that said, "There's this beautiful thing called imperfect progress, slow steps of progress wrapped in grace."

It was at this moment when I realized that there is one good reason of why I shouldn't give up, and it is because God isn't giving up on me. 

Don't give up because God is not giving up on you. 

Don't believe Satan when he tells you that your slow progress means you're not good enough to be who God wants you to be. Your slow progress is one step closer to where God wants you to be.  God has great plans for you and he wants to help you fulfill your destiny. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.." God's grace is enough to cover our imperfections. We don't have to be good enough, because God is good enough for us. We need to stop fighting to be good enough and instead abide in Christ and let him take control of us. He has already overcome the world and sin, and through him we can also overcome our own weakness and failures. 

Before we were even born, God has created us with a special purpose and calling in mind. He has made great plans for each of us, and he plans to help us reach those very goals. God doesn't expect us to have it all together, and in fact, he knows that we can't do anything without him. In John 15:5 Jesus says, "..If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." 

God wants us to depend on him so that at the end when we do overcome our failures, all the glory will go to him, and we will know that it is not by our own works that we are saved. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved,..not by works, so that no one can boast." If we were perfect, then why would we need God? 

Behind every failure is an open door to God's grace. Appreciate your failures because it is in your failures where you will find the power and beauty of God's grace upon your life. What are some areas in your life that you feel like giving up on? Don't give up to the things that God has called you to do, because he will make a way for you if you let him. Trust that his grace is sufficient, and that in his time, you will see the results of his grace. 

Failure is a stopping block between where you are now and where you want to be, but only if you let it stop you. The truth is, our failures don't matter, it is what we do after our failures that count. Allow your failures to bring you closer to Jesus, because it is only through Jesus that you can accomplish the tasks he has set before you. So remember, don't give up.