When You Want To Give Up Before You Start

Posted on Jan 30, 2017 Topic : Weekly Devotionals

I am the Lord, the God of all mankind.

Is anything too hard for me?

Jeremiah 32:27

Have you ever had an idea that set your soul on fire? You were sure God was calling you to do something for Him and you were totally stoked. You immediately wrote down your idea and told your best friend. But then a couple of hours or days passed and the flame of enthusiasm you initially felt began to die, doused by the reality of what it would take: resources you didn’t have, courage you felt you lacked, and expertise you didn’t possess. So because it looked impossible, you gave up before you started.

This common scenario reminds me of when Nehemiah, in the book of Nehemiah, describes how he rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem. His passion for this project was ignited when he asked one of his brothers, Hanani, about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile. Hanani said, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:3).

This meant Jerusalem was defenseless against her enemies. When Nehemiah heard this, he was deeply moved, so he sat down and wept. For “some days” he mourned and fasted and prayed before God. Finally, his passion led him to petition God for favor in approaching the king to ask for help in rebuilding the wall.

Sadly, some of us never get past the passion stage where Nehemiah was during his “some days” of fasting, weeping, and praying for favor from the king. Sure, we may pray for days or weeks when an idea has set our souls on fire. But then we take inventory of what following our desire will require and what we lack, and before we know it we have talked ourselves right out of moving forward. We determine it would be best to stop wanting and dreaming and instead just stick with what’s safe—even if it will kill our hearts. We dry our tears, brush off deep emotions that could lead us to action, and decide we won’t move forward because it’s just too risky. Don’t you think it’s tragic that we give up before we have taken even one step toward what could be God’s plan?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“[Jesus said], ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:26).

Are you not pursuing your God-given dream because you are focused on the obstacles?

Related Readings

Job 42:2; Jeremiah 32:17; Psalms 3:8; 62:11