WHEN YOU SIMPLY WANT TO QUIT
Do you ever feel that no matter what you do, and no matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to get ahead, you can’t seem it get a break? Do you ever like things were pressing in on you from every side? Have you ever simply want to quit? Have you ever gotten tired of fighting, gotten tired of trying, and simply wanted to run away and start over again? Have you ever felt overwhelmed?
I felt a bit like that a couple of weeks ago. I remember it distinctly. It was on a Friday night. The reason I remember it so well is that for a minute or two I became so angry I cursed, which is unusual for me. And you know I don’t really know what bothered me more; the fact that I cursed, or the fact that I didn’t feel any better when I did.
You know I kid a lot with Gladys, but in the past few weeks, I’ve said things a time or two that hurt her. I don’t remember doing that much in the past, but I did recently, and I can’t explain it. I love her more than I can say.
Some people have the mistaken idea that when you become a Christian, you don’t have any more struggles, you don’t have any more trials. Suddenly, you’ve got it all together. That’s nonsense. My friend, when you know and love Jesus, when you realize the standards He calls His disciples to live up to, it can be overwhelming. All of a sudden you’re hit with the realization that God has given you a great honor, but also an awesome responsibility. You and I are called to be Ambassadors for Christ, His representatives in the world. We are supposed to be loving husbands and wives, encouraging our spouses. We are given the responsibility of being godly parents, and it’s tough finding the balance with discipline.
The Devil doesn’t make it any easier. He’ll help your spouse give you grief. He’ll cause your children to fight. He’ll send every thought in the world to make you think you’re all alone, no one understands, and you might as well quit even trying.
If you’re like me, sometimes it seems that God expects and life requires more than I have to give.
Don’t you imagine the crowd Jesus talked to when He preached the Sermon on the Mount felt the same way? Jesus told them they were supposed to be merciful. They were supposed to focus on storing treasures in heaven and to trust God to provide for them in this life. He said, “turn the other cheek, and if someone requires you to go one mile with him, go the extra mile. Oh, and by the way, unless your righteousness is greater than the Pharisees, you can forget about getting to heaven; and while you’re trying to exceed them, don’t judge them.” Sounds like Jesus requires an awful lot.
Am I the only one overwhelmed by His expectations?
I imagine about that time someone in the back of the crowd hollered up, like many of us want to do, “How in the world am I supposed to do that? Preaching it is one thing. Living it is something else.”
It is then, my friend that Jesus tells us what to do when we want to stop trying, when we simply want to quit.
- Read Matthew 7:7-11
In these verses, Jesus basically tells us to pray when things get tough. He uses three words, ask, seek, knock, but they all mean the same thing. Jesus tells us to pray, or to ask. Now, I believe in this passage, He is striving to emphasize 5 essentials required when we want to quit. You ask, or pray:
I. WITH HUMILITY – V7
Verse 7 says that you and I are to ask. You know there are some people who will never ask anyone for anything. They are more than happy to help you with a problem, or to help you with something, but they will never ask for themselves. Often, those who will never ask, refuse to do so because of pride. They want to handle things themselves. They don’t want to need anyone for anything.
Sadly, some people feel the same way about God. They don’t want to go to Him; they don’t want to ask Him for anything, they just want to handle it themselves.
> James 4:2 … ye have not, because ye ask not. My friend, if you want to make it through, you need to ask God.
II. WITH RESPECT – V7
Again, notice verse 7 says you and I are to ask, and seek, and knock. The Bible doesn’t tell us that we are to TELL God what we need. Jesus says we are to knock, not break the door down.
> Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. I WANT YOU TO UNDERLINE requests. Do you see that? We are to ask God. Each month I get together with other pastors in our community for fellowship and prayer. Quite honestly, it bothers me sometimes when I hear some of them pray. God, give me this, and God do this. They’re talking like they’re commanding God to do something. Sounds almost like they’re talking to a dog.
> Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Guess what. God knows more stuff than you do. He knows more stuff than I do. That means I don’t always know what to pray for and I don’t always know what is best. I don’t want God to give me everything I pray for. I want Him to give me what is best.
Mrs. Billy Graham once said that if God had answered all of her prayers, she would have married the wrong man, several times. Oh my friend, when you pray remember you’re talking to the Almighty, All-knowing, Ever-present God, not the pizza deliveryman. You’re talking to the God Who knows more than you’ll ever know, Who sees around the corner of tonight down the road of tomorrow. Ask with respect.
III. WITH PASSION – V7 Quickly, thirdly, you ask with passion. Ask, seek, and knock. In other words, what you desire means something to you. It’s important to you. The most fatal thing in the Christian life is to be content with passing desires. If you really want to know Him, if you really want to be a man or woman of God, then ask like you mean it. Let your prayers have passion.
It amazes me, the number of people who pray without passion, like they really don’t care if God answers their prayers or not. My friend, let me ask you. Do you pray that God will protect your son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter? Do you pray that God will keep them pure? Do you pray that God will give them a godly spouse? How can pray such a prayer without passion?
Do you pray that God will help you be the parent and example He wants you to be for your children or grandchildren? Do you realize what’s at stake?
Do you pray God will save your neighbors, that He will transform you into a person who can say with Paul, “The things you’ve seen me do, do them?” Do you realize how important you are in their lives? Do you realize the power you have in prayer? Do you realize that through your prayer, God works to change the world? Oh my friend, pray with passion for you can rest assured, if your prayer means nothing to you, it means nothing to God.
Pray with humility, ask with respect and passion, and pray with persistence.
IV. WITH PERSISTENCE – V7
In verse 7, Jesus tells us to ask, seek, and knock. If there is anything other than passion He’s striving to emphasize, it’s the importance of persistence. Keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. Strange He commands us to keep asking when in chapter 6 and verse 32 Jesus says that God knows we need all of these things. If God knows what we need, then why keep asking, and seeking, and knocking? Why do we keep praying?
1. Sometimes there can be delays – Daniel 10:12-14 In Daniel we are told there can be delays in the answers to our prayers. My friends, we are in a war. We are involved in spiritual battle. The Devil will do everything he can to delay an answer to your prayers, so you’ll quit before you hear an answer. Don’t hang up the phone. Don’t stop listening.
2. Sometimes your heart needs changing –
> James 4:3 (HCSB) You ask and don’t receive because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on your desires for pleasure.
Sometimes you ask for the wrong things for the wrong reasons. So, sometimes God delays answering your prayers because your heart needs changing. Do you really need a new car, or do you need another car? Do you really need a new job, or does your heart need to be changed about the job you have? Are you doing everything God’s called you to do there? …
3. Sometimes you need to grow – I dated a fair amount growing up, and so I always figured I’d marry pretty young. I was mistaken. I didn’t get married until I was 31. I had known Gladys for 5 years before we married, 41/2 before we even dated. And you know, if God had given me a wife earlier than He did, I never would have appreciated the great gift He has given me. I probably would have taken her for granted. I needed to grow so I could see what a great wife He gave me. I needed to grow so I could appreciate His gift. …
V. WITH TRUST – V11 This verse says, God is our Father and He will never give a bad gift. Sometimes we dads can make mistakes in what we give our children … John 1:11-12
