Do you ever want to throw in the towel?
“Throwing in the towel” is actually a boxing expression. If a trainer saw that his boxer was being severely beaten, he would throw a towel into the ring as a sign of defeat. It’s now a popular cultural expression meaning to quit or give up.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the stuff of life and want to throw in the towel. We can throw in the towel on any manner of issues: marriage, faith, your work, friendships, service, your church, God, or anything that feels like it’s gotten too difficult to go on.
I have no doubt that everyone battles giving up. I know I do.
I believe how easily we give up is one of those foundational issues of life. Vince Lombardi, one of the most respected and legendary football coaches of all time said, “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”
If you do a search for quotes on giving up you will discover a plethora of inspirational expressions:
“Winners are not those who never fail, but those who never quit.”
“Failure doesn’t come from not falling down, it comes from not getting up.”
“If you feel like quitting, think about why you started.”
“Before you give up, think about why you held on for so long.”
“Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that is true strength.”
“There are only 3 choices in life: give up, give in, or give it all you’ve got.”
You know why there are so many inspirational quotes about not giving up? Because we all battle it continually. Life is oftentimes like swimming upstream: it’s hard work, it’s tiring, and it can be overwhelming.
However, to give up is to lose all the ground we’ve already gained.
I recently found myself battling feelings of giving up. Giving up on what though? I don’t know. I just had a general sense of weariness. Feelings of being on a long, arduous journey; spent, having forgotten why I had started the journey in the first place, wondering how it was all going to end. I felt like I simply wanted to stop doing what I was doing, to escape.
There are 3 acquaintances I have known throughout the years. They often visit. They drop in when I least expect it. They want to stay, but they’re unwanted guests. They continually knock on the door of my heart trying to force their way in.
They are discouragement, despair and hopelessness. I have learned to say no to their repeated requests. I have learned to force them to leave. I have learned to get violent with them because they have one objective: to get me to give up.
Their goal is to get me to stop doing good; to stop living the way God has called me to live.
I have a sneaking suspicion that you may know my acquaintances as well. Their goal with you is the same as with me: to get you to give up, to stop you from doing good.
Like the workers rebuilding the wall in Nehemiah’s day, we need to carry a sword in one hand and work with the other. We need to fight and work. We need to exercise our authority and victory in Jesus over the opposition that seeks to intimidate us to give up, and to continue to do the good work God has put in our hands.
And, we need to encourage each other to keep doing the good work each of us is doing.
If you are experiencing feelings of discouragement, despair and hopelessness right now, rebuke them and kick them out. If you’re feeling like giving up, remind yourself about why you started in the first place. Remind yourself of the Truth of what God has promised. Saturate yourself in the Truth.
And, share where you’re at with someone who cares about you so they can remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing.
You make a difference – don’t give up!
Like Winston Churchill said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Galatians 6:9
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Hebrews 10:35, 36
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Nehemiah 4:17-18
“…Those how carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked…”