Never give up!

By Terry Wardle

Never give up! How many times I have heard those words over the years, as a call to persevere during life’s difficult moments. It is a good word. Churchill once said only those words when invited to stand and speak at a graduation service. He stood and said, “Never give up. Never, ever give up.” And then he sat down. Enough said.

In Luke 18 Jesus made the same point when teaching about prayer. He told a story about a nagging widow and an unjust judge, who eventually met her request just to get him off her back. Jesus went on to tell his disciples to pray like that. To keep asking, never giving up on the goodness and love of God to eventually come through.

Great advice. But in truth, there have been countless times when all I wanted to do was give up. Many people feel that way when life gets dark and difficult. And, sadly, many people go beyond wanting to give up, and they simply do. Hope and energy exhausted, they unfortunately cave in and surrender to the forces of life bent on destruction.

Which brings me to the point. Sometimes not giving up is the job of those people standing alongside the broken and battered. Believing for them, holding on for them, keeping faith for them. Maybe, just maybe, the admonition to persevere is not just an individual call to perseverance, but a corporate one. Something like, “Hold fast for the broken, keep on praying, loving, and caring. Do it together. Draw from one another’s strength and don’t give up. Believe for them, even when they can no longer believe for themselves. For when you do, God will answer that prayer.”