Don’t Give Up Too Soon

Julie Fillinger • December 24, 2024

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Don’t give up too soon  

Maybe, like me, you have questioned how to keep living in the present where we see brokenness all around. I feel so much empathy for those suffering because I know what it’s like to feel the anguish of a broken heart plummeting me to the depths of grief’s despair.  

What I have to remember is suffering has a purpose because it produces endurance. Endurance is good as it informs me to keep hanging on until it produces character. I should be excited about greater character, but honestly it’s not worth the suffering to me. This is when I get discouraged and I’m tempted to give up. But God, in His faithfulness, won’t let me. I want to let go, but He holds me in His firm grip. And by His Spirit, He shows me that if I don’t give up too soon, character produces Hope. 2  
 

Why do I give up too soon?  

I listen to the lies of satan instead of believing God is who He says and will do what He promises. Or I rely on my own strength instead of leaning on God’s. Maybe it’s not in the time frame I think it should be or the outcome is different from what I imagined. I’m talking about real hurts and painful losses that I cannot fathom could be a part of God’s sovereign plan.  

I give up too soon when I take my eyes off Jesus

and believe the lie

that the Glory that awaits

  is not worth what I must endure.  

Do I continue to suffer?   

Yes. But I move through the transformative process more quickly to bask in Hope that does not disappoint. I have the memorial stones of God’s faithfulness to lean on. He has never not been faithful. I have no other reason to be hopeful. But God, in His love, makes sense of the suffering. I can endure a little longer and then a little longer still as I wait expectantly for Christ’s return. 

Unresolved tension for 400 years  

I have read a Psalm a day for every day in 2024 and what I have found is not disappointing. I see God Bigger everywhere I look. My mind continues to be blown as I continue to grow in my understanding of who God is. I know He must be true to His character. Yet, His own character seems from my perspective to be at odds with itself. What feels like unresolved tension is not uncomfortable to Him.  

He planned 400 years of silence between the Old and New Covenant. I think of all of the unrealized dreams as God’s people waited expectantly for Him to answer. They were waiting for the Messiah, the King who would come to deliver them and set them up as Princes and Princesses who would reign and rule with Him. All of the Books prophesied about it.  

Expecting a King  

That brings me to Psalm 93. As I reflected on this short Psalm, I was encouraged by the Hope that still rings true. The King who reigns forever from His Holy Throne is robed in strength and majesty. The thunderous waves of the sea are a glimpse of His mighty power. In a world that is chaotic and ever changing, His throne is firmly established and His Rule is everlasting. This is what God’s people were expectantly awaiting. 

A baby born to low income parents?  

What they were not expecting is for this King to come in the humblest means possible as a baby born in a stable to low income parents who had no earthly idea what to do with Him, other than put Him in a manger.  

The heavens broke open as angels heralded, shepherds came, a star appeared, and kings traversed. The world had been forever changed, but would she believe this babe was the Savior promised so long ago to bring reconciliation so sinful humans could meet with a Holy God? 

The baby is the King who reigns forever  

The baby born to die so we could live is the King who reigns forever. The rest of the story is written but not yet realized. He longs for what He has always longed for. I don’t understand it, but the King of kings wants to make His dwelling with us. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld His Glory, Glory as could only come from the Father, as it was full of Grace and Truth. 3   

When Jesus ascended to the heavens, He said He must go so the Comforter could come. Until He returns to set up His Kingdom, He left us with His Spirit. 4   

Emmanuel! God is still with us!  

This Christmas, not giving up too soon is a willingness to keep on keepin on as you let the Spirit of this King Reign in your heart. 

93  The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; 
    the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. 
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. 
2  Your throne is established from of old; 
    you are from everlasting. 

3  The floods have lifted up, O Lord, 
    the floods have lifted up their voice; 
    the floods lift up their roaring. 
4  Mightier than the thunders of many waters, 
    mightier than the waves of the sea, 
    the Lord on high is mighty! 

5  Your decrees are very trustworthy; 
    holiness befits your house, 
    O Lord, forevermore. 

Psalm 93 ESV  

  1. Feature Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash   
  2. Romans 5:1-5  
  3. John 1:14 
  4. John 14:16-20

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