“Never Quit”
February 17, 2013
1 Samuel 30:1-6
“On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag. The Amalekites had attacked the people of the Negev Desert. They had also attacked Ziklag and burned it. They had captured the women and everyone else who was in Ziklag. They had taken as prisoner young people and old people alike. But they didn’t kill any of them. Instead, they carried them off as they went on their way.
David and his men came to Ziklag. They saw that it had been destroyed by fire. They found out that their wives and sons and daughters had been captured. So David and his men began to sob out loud. They sobbed until they couldn’t sob anymore. David’s two wives had been captured. Their names were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail from Carmel. Abigail was Nabal’s widow.
David was greatly troubled. His men were even talking about killing him by throwing stones at him. All of them were very bitter because their sons and daughters had been taken away. But David was made strong by the LORD his God.”
David is one of the most colorful people in the Bible. We remember him as the young boy who killed Goliath. We remember him as the shepherd boy who became king. We remember him as a poet and a warrior and a king. But things weren’t always rosy for David. When King Saul became jealous of him and tried to kill him, he had to go on the run in the wilderness. There were many fearful nights and days without food or water. Once he acted like he was insane because he was so afraid for his life. How humiliating that must have been. How embarrassing for the King to think he resorted to acting like a fool because he was so afraid.
In our Scripture here we see even his own men turning on him. They are considering killing him. They and David wept bitterly or “sobbed until they couldn’t sob anymore”. The enemy had captured the very ones they were fighting for – their families. They experienced a time of hopelessness and that made them fearful and bitter.
We know the rest of the story. David and his men went on to recapture their families and defeat the enemy. But I want you to know that skies will not always be blue. Life will not always be sweet. There will be times of bitterness and difficulty. This morning I want to talk about those times a little bit. One of my favorite poems starts.
“When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh...”
The fact of the matter is that things WILL sometimes go wrong. The fact of the matter is that the road will seem rough and all uphill at times. The fact of the matter is that sometimes the funds will be low and the debts sky high. What do you do then? This morning I want to share with you five things to do when things go wrong.
This last week President Obama gave his first state of the union speech in his second term. He made things sound pretty good. One pundit said,
President Obama put a rosy spin on several accomplishments of his administration in his 2013 State of the Union address.
• The president claimed that "both parties have worked together to reduce the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion." But that's only an estimate of deficit reduction through fiscal year 2022, and it would be lower if the White House used a different starting point. (The deficit has actually risen!)
• Obama touted the growth of 500,000 manufacturing jobs over the past three years, but there has been a net loss of 600,000 manufacturing jobs since he took office. The recent growth also has stalled since July 2012.
• He claimed that "we have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas." Actual mileage is improving, but Obama's "doubled" claim refers to a desired miles-per-gallon average for model year 2025.
• Obama said the Affordable Care Act "is helping to slow the growth of health care costs." It may be helping, but the slower growth for health care spending began in 2009, before the law was enacted, and is due at least partly to the down economy.
I think the America people need hope and optimism – but they also need the truth. And the truth of the matter is that the formula and policies of the government will, and ARE, leading us to hard times. Gas prices have more than doubled. Groceries and common household products have risen drastically. Everything is higher than it was 5 years ago. Why is that? Because the spending policies of the government doesn’t work. It never will. Do you think any of the Politian’s would use the tactics personally they are using for our country? You can’t continue to spend money you don’t have. In a personal budget you either have to quit spending or increase your finances. In a government you either have to quit spending or raise taxes. Guess which one they will do?
So I foresee some hard times ahead for all of us. Let me share with you five things you can do when hard times hit.
First, don’t be in Denial. That is our human tendency. We bury our heads in the sand. We ignore and deny the facts. We avoid anything that would disrupt our peaceful little world. It is amazing how many people do this! They don’t want to hear the dangers – it scares them! The bible says,
“First of all, here is what you must understand. In the last days people will make fun of the truth. They will laugh at it. They will follow their own evil longings. They will say, “Where is this ‘return’ he promised? Everything goes on in the same way it has since our people of long ago died. In fact, it has continued that way since God first created everything.” 2 Peter 3:3-4
It continues: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar. Fire will destroy everything in them. God will judge the earth and everything in it.” 2 Peter 3:10
The Day of the Lord WILL come. Don’t be in denial about it.
A lot of people are like these mentioned in the book of Obadiah,
“You live in the safety of the rocks. You make your home high up in the mountains. But your proud heart has tricked you. So you say to yourself,
‘No one can bring me down to the ground.’” Obadiah 1:3
A lot of people are in denial. “It can’t happen to me!” They say. But it can. Don’t be in denial. Bad times can touch each of our lives. So what can we do about it? The Bible clearly answers that question. Common sense tells us what to do. And that is to 2. Prepare. Don’t be in denial – prepare! Jesus said,
“Suppose someone wants to build a tower. Won’t he sit down first and figure out how much it will cost? Then he will see whether he has enough money to finish it. Suppose he starts building and is not able to finish. Then everyone who sees what he has done will laugh at him. They will say, ‘This fellow started to build. But he wasn’t able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. And suppose he has 10,000 men, while the other has 20,000 coming against him. Won’t he first sit down and think about whether he can win?
“And suppose he decides he can’t win. Then he will send some men to ask how peace can be made. He will do this while the other king is still far away.”
Luke 14:28-32
Prepare! The wisest person who ever lived wrote,
“The best food and olive oil are stored up in the houses of wise people. But a foolish man eats up everything he has.” Proverbs 21:20
“Be sure you know how your flocks are doing. Pay careful attention to your herds.” Proverbs 27:23
“Make plans by asking for guidance. If you go to war, get good advice.”
Proverbs 20:18
A wise person hopes for the best – but prepares for the worst. Most people don’t even like to think about something bad happening. When it happens – they are totally unprepared. Life is a lot more difficult when you are unprepared. If you are prepared for emergencies and it doesn’t happen – you haven’t really lost anything. Preparation combats stress and anxiety. That alone ought to be motivation enough to prepare.
Thirdly, choose to rejoice. Anyone can rejoice in times of prosperity and blessing. Rejoicing in times of leanness; rejoicing in times of difficulty is hard. How can we do that? The first thing necessary to enable us to rejoice is hope. Hope is defined as the “Trusting expectation that God will keep His Word.” Hope is an expectation of better days ahead. Hope is an absolute trust that God is going to bless us. The Bible says,
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Do we really believe that? Do we really believe that God will work in ALL things for our good? If we do – we can’t help but rejoice.
But we are so emotional. We don’t always FEEL like rejoicing. Sometimes we feel scared. We don’t always do the smart thing or the spiritual thing. We do what we feel like doing – and that’s unwise. The wise thing is to make a spiritual choice. The Bible says,
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
You can be unbelievably blessed and when you think on your problems or the “what ifs” you can make yourself miserable and depressed. On the other hand we have seen people with very little material things -live happy, joyful, grateful lives. A key to happiness in any situation is choice. Choose to rejoice.
Fourthly, Persevere. In other words, “Never quit! The Bible says,
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58
“But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:13
Someone said, “It’s always too soon to quit.” I read a story in Reader’s Digest this week about a guy who got stuck on the face of a cliff for two days. He had to stay awake or he would slide off a thousand foot drop. It was torture for him. Often he felt like giving up and giving in. But he hung on. He never quit. Consequently, help arrived. He was rescued. But I wonder how many give up just before help arrives. I wonder how many give up on God when help is almost there. The Bible says,
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12
Remember Daniel’s dilemma? An Angel of the Lord finally came to His rescue. The angel speaks to Daniel.
“He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.”
Daniel 10:11-13
What if Daniel hadn’t persevered for 21 days? He would have missed out on a tremendous blessing. Jesus was crucified on Friday – but on Sunday He rose from the dead. What if the disciples would have quit on Saturday? They would have regretted it for eternity. When trials come to your life – never quit. As a minimum – always wait 3 days. Better yet – wait 21 days. Help is on the way.
And that brings me to the last and most important point. Fifth, Place the problem in Jesus’ hands. We are not equipped to handle everything on our own. Sometimes God allows situation in our lives that are meant to bring us to Him. We are taught faith and trust when we go through some of our biggest trials. Jesus says,
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
God delights in coming to your rescue. He won’t come if you don’t ask or if you ask with the wrong motives, but He will come. He wants to help you. Place whatever your problem is in the capable hands of the Gentle Shepherd. He will never fail you.
I know that troublesome times are near. The clouds are forming over the horizon. But we don’t have to fear. 1. Don’t be in denial about it; 2. Prepare. Do all you can do to get ready for it; 3.Choose to rejoice no matter what; 4. Persevere, never, ever quit; and 5. Place the problems in God’s. He is so better equipped to handle life’s problems.
SONG
