You Only Fail If You Quit

• The shop assistant replies, 'No sir, we don't stock duck feed.'

• Next day the duck returns. 'Got any duck feed?'

• 'No sir, as I said, we don't stock duck feed.'

• The following day the duck shows up again. 'Got any duck feed?'

• 'Listen, I don't have duck feed. Never did have duck feed, never will have duck feed! And if you ask me one more time I'll nail your feet to the floor.'

• Bright and early the next morning the duck strolls into the pet food shop. 'Got any nails?' asks the duck.

• ‘No,’ says the shop assistant.

• 'Got any duck feed?'

Let me ask you a question…looking back over your life has there been a time that you wish you had not quit something?

For example…

• Do you wish you had finished high school, college or graduate school?

• Do you wish you had not sold a car that you wish you still had.

• Do you wish you had kept on taking piano, voice lessons?

• Do you wish you had stayed with your previous job?

• Do you wish you had not quit on your marriage?

There are many situations in life we can look back and wish we had not made certain decision.

We now think if I had only endured I would be much better off today.

• Endurance is the key that keeps us from giving up and letting go.

• Endurance is "the power of going on in spite of difficulties."

When it comes to endurance there are popular colloquial phrases describe as:

• "Keep on keeping on."

• "Hang in there."

• "Put up with it."

• "Stick-to-itiveness."

• "Don't quit."

Synonyms to endurance is…

• Determination,

• Perseverance,

• Tenacity,

• Stamina,

• And backbone.

To have a good definition of ENDURANCE rather than just giving you definitions and synomyms let me tell you a true story.

Illus: On a consumer flight from Portland, Maine, to Boston in the summer of 1987, the pilot heard an unusual noise near the rear of the aircraft.

Henry Dempsey turned the controls over to his copilot and went back to check it out. As he reached the tail section, the plane hit an air pocket, and Dempsey was tossed against the rear door. He quickly discovered the source of the mysterious noise. The rear door had not been properly latched prior to takeoff and it fell open. Dempsey was instantly sucked out of the jet.

The copilot, seeing the red light on the control panel that indicated an open door, radioed the nearest airport requesting permission to make an emergency landing. He reported that Dempsey had fallen out of the plane and requested that a helicopter be dispatched to search the area of the ocean.

After the plane had landed, the ground crew found Henry Dempsey holding onto the outdoor ladder of the aircraft. Somehow, he had caught the ladder and managed to hold on for 10 minutes as the plane flew 200mph at an altitude of 4,000 feet. What more, as the plane made its approach and landed, Dempsey had kept his head from hitting the runway, a mere 12 inches away.

According to news reports, it took several airport personnel more than a few minutes to pry the pilot's fingers from the ladder. (Rick Ezell)

That is a picture of endurance - the ability to hang on when it would have been easier to let go.

Let me share some things with you that will help you as a child of God to ENDURE.

Let’s look at these things from this perspective…

I.THERE ARE THINGS IN LIFE WE CAN NOT CHANGE.

(Humor) Ladies I am not necessarily talking about your husband!!!

THERE ARE SOME THINGS IN LIFE WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH BECAUSE THEY WILL NEVER CHANGE. NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!

We have to ENDURE!!!

Sometimes, in one way or another, we fall out of unlocked airplane doors AND WE HAVE TO HANG ON!

It helps to remember that God is in charge of our lives. His desire is for us to grow in the likeness of his Son. So whatever enters our life is for the development of our character.

Be it good, bad, or indifferent our response to life's irritants forms our character.

Illus: The oyster and its pearl provide a beautiful picture of a positive response to life's irritants.

The pearl is a product of pain. An alien substance - a grain of sand - slips inside the oyster's shell. On the entry of that foreign irritant, all the resources within the tiny, sensitive oyster rush to the spot and begin to release healing fluids that otherwise would have remained dormant. Eventually the irritant is covered and the wound healed by a pearl.