DON'T GIVE UP!

“We have troubles all around us, but
we are not defeated. We do not know what to do,
but we do not give up the hope of living.
We are persecuted, but God does not leave us.
We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed.”
(2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
New Century Version

Job 14:1 says, "How frail is humanity! How short is life, and how full of trouble!” Because we name the name of Christ does not mean that there will not be trouble, disappointment or pain. Again, Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” From this passage we know and understand even the righteous are not exempt from troubles and problems. But, the later part of the verse says ‘but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.' That promise is our consolation in the midst of adversity.
The Apostle Paul suffered many things for the gospel’s sake. He realized that living a Christian life was not just a ‘flower bed of ease.’ The Christian life is full of persecution, opposition, suffering and adversity. Yet, Paul was determined to never give up! He had learned to differentiate between the dying and suffering of the natural man and the growth and maturity of the inner man. Romans 8:18 says, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” In light of eternity, Paul counted the trials of this life incomparable with the future glory that will be manifested and revealed in us.
There will be times in your Christian life where you will say ‘If it’s not one thing, it is another. If it is not another, it’s the same thing.’ Paul was saying “I may be knocked down, but I am not knocked out!” Even in the moments of being mistreated and persecuted, we have the promise that God will always be with us. We must be able to find safety and comfort in the loving arms of Jesus in hard times. In times of being mistreated, we must learn that God is either working something in you to mature you or working something out of you to purify you.
In your Christian walk, even when you are doing all you know to do, you will be puzzled by events that occur, hurt and disappointed, but DON’T GIVE UP! There will be times when you just don’t know what to do. All this happens so that our natural, human flesh will be continually crucified so the life of Christ can be manifested in the earth.
Don't lose hope and giving up is not an option. Trials and tribulations are characteristics of the Christian life, but remember “For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:17)!