by Kevin Burton
Had some fun Friday with National Quitters Day. It sounds like a fun way to get the baser aspects of the world out of your face for at least a day.
Today let’s take a more serious look at it from a Christian perspective.
I actually found out about Quitters Day from the proverbs29flocks blog on WordPress, written by Wayne Winquist.
His blog posts on faith mostly go straight to my heart. His blog posts on investing go mostly right over my head. But it’s a blog well worth reading, including his take on Quitter’s Day, part of which I will share here. His message is one of encouragement to perseverance for Christians in service to God.
“I’ve been on this earth long enough to know about my own quitting, and the quitting of many other Christians. We give up far too easily,” Winquist writes. “Let me remind you of two areas of life where quitting is not an option for the follower of Jesus. We are to keep praying. We are to continue to do good and not be weary in doing good.”
“In the Christian’s life, “quitting day” is contrary to living by faith and persisting until the last breath. Jesus even told a parable about persistence in prayer in Luke chapter 18. His reminder wasn’t designed to make us feel guilty, but to help us to remember that God will do justice for us. We just need to present our needs to him and trust him.”
Persistent Prayer: The Parable of the Persistent Widow
“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’
And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’” Luke 18:1-8 ESV.
Persistent in Doing Good
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 ESV.
“I don’t want to celebrate National Quitter’s Day. Do you?” Winquist asks “If you are a follower of Jesus, this is probably one of the most important things to consider: what will bring glory to God and benefit others? I resolve to love God and love others in 2023. All of the other things should flow from this main goal.”
Now that’s the way to do New Year’s resolutions!
I feel like quitting fairly often. But Winquist is correct. We simply can’t quit. Our friends and family are counting on us. Lost sinners who perhaps don’t yet know it, are counting on us to spread the gospel.
Jesus didn’t get half way into fulfilling the Father’s plan of salvation, then quit. He would never even consider quitting. How thankful are you for that? Show it by not quitting.
In our humanness we will consider giving up. But looking to God for strength and guidance and to fellow Christians for support, we must fight the good fight, until the end.
“Are you exposed to difficulties and dangers? Stand fast in the evil day, remembering that you are Christ’s,” wrote Alistair Begg, speaker on the Truth For Life radio ministry. “Are you placed where others are sitting down idly, doing nothing? Rise to the work with all your powers; and when the sweat stands upon your brow, and you are tempted to loiter, cry, ‘No, I cannot stop, for I am Christ’s.’”
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