When You Want to Quit

A grasshopper mentality will always rob you of your promise. The Israelites were on the edge of the Promised Land, but they allowed fear to delay the gift of God.

WEARINESS
In Daniel 7:25, an angel revealed the enemy’s end-time strategy. “And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High” (KJV).

The enemy of your soul has an assignment to wear you out–to make you so tired you lose your motivation to fight! The intimidation of the enemy is specifically designed to overwhelm you and stop you from making forward progress.

When we become overwhelmed, we lose our strength to resist. I know many parents who have lost their place of authority in their children’s lives because the responsibilities overcame them.

When our two girls were small, we made decisions regarding our philosophy of child training. We did not allow them to eat sugar or watch TV programs about witches and sorcerers.

We also did not allow them to date until they were 16. They had curfews and accountability.

Everyone in our lives thought we were being too hard on our kids. It was very difficult to enforce our beliefs because of the lack of support.

All their friends were dating earlier. They were constantly being ostracized by their peer group because they did not fit in. Sometimes I felt so overwhelmed by the pressure to conform, I considered compromise.

When you go against the tide, your strength will be tested and you must resist the desire to give in. I’m glad God gave me the grace to stand firm. Our daughters are now married to godly men, are serving Jesus and are raising their own children in the fear of the Lord.

FEELING ALONE
There is no question that our power is multiplied when we join others in agreement. That’s why one of the enemy’s favorite tactics is to divide and conquer.

About 10 years ago, at the Lord’s direction, I moved with my family to Lakeland, Florida, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, after serving for four years as a campus pastor at Oral Roberts University. We established a new headquarters for our ministry, joined a great church and started forming new relationships.

Unfortunately, because of our travel schedule, it was difficult to develop a circle of friends. Several months after relocating, our youngest daughter had a physical crisis. We took her to the emergency room, and the doctors told us she might not live through the night.

After the initial shock, my husband and I tried to think of someone we could call to be with us for support. Sadly, we realized we were alone. All our family and friends were in Texas and Oklahoma.

The darkness of that night was so deep and heavy I didn’t think I could take the next breath. As the sun rose the next morning, we received the good news that our daughter had received a miracle and would be perfectly restored.

Though we rejoiced in God’s goodness, the effects of that lonely night eroded our commitment to obey God. We immediately began to make arrangements to move back to Texas. We had given up.

Before we left, I called one of my few friends in Florida, Joy Strang. Although she lived more than an hour away, Joy had always been an encourager in my life, and I greatly appreciated her wisdom and insight.

When we met for lunch, I began to tell her about our ordeal and our decision to go back “home” where our support system was established. She laid down her fork and asked me one simple question: “Has the Lord finished with you here?”

With those words, the sword of Truth pierced my lonely and disappointed heart. I had given up the vision and purpose of God because I believed it was too hard to obey, and I needed someone to help me see where the shipwreck had occurred.

We need each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord. We are destined to succeed in the kingdom of God together. If we distance ourselves from one another we lose the strength to finish the course.

As a result of Joy’s piercing question, we remained in Florida and went on to establish a facility for leadership restoration and training, a school of ministry and a local church. Thousands of lives have been touched and changed through our decision to obey and not give up.