Never Give Up...

In my bible I have a yellow sticky note book-marking a page.  On it I have written:
   2 Corinthians 12:9
   The Lord said...."My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
    weakness."

I was listening to Joyce Meyers this morning and she mentioned in her preaching as she does often the art of "Never Giving Up".   I instantly think:  "Yes, finally one I've got down that is something I don't do, I don't give up."   Then I got to thinking about how many times I have had this conversation with good friends and/or family (most of my friends are family and vice versa).  I can even remember the last time I said this because it was so recent "I never give up, even to my own detriment I never quit."  

What does that mean?   I said it, I should know, yet right now even I am confused.   So Lord, are you telling me to literally NEVER GIVE UP?  So does that mean if we are in a bad situation at work we should stay?   If we are in an abusive relationship at home we should stay?  If we have friends who take us farther from the Lord are we supposed to remain their friends and continue to live in their company?   I'm not going to tell you the answer to these because if I knew I would not have started the paragraph off with "What does that mean?"

I think it goes back to the verse I stated in the beginning.  With God all things are possible, and in the midst of your weakness his power is made perfect in you.   We forget that the real "church" is within us, we are the temple in which God resides, he is always there, he will never leave us nor forsake us.  Wow!  That can either sound really scary, or really comforting depending on how you look at it and what kind of life you live!  Either way, just hearing it makes me want to straighten up my act a bit.   I have often said to my kids "If God was sitting next to you on the bus would you have made that decision?"  or if  "God was sitting on the bed watching you while you hit your brother would you have done it?"   Of course, this hits home and they all know God well enough to answer "No", and then the almighty mother in me says "Well, do you think he isn't there?  Do you think there are times when he isn't watching you?"  

I always say "Thank God for my children" otherwise I might very well be in a loony bin by now, if not dead, or at the very least not living a very godly life.   Well, our good Lord gives us children to not only keep us sane but to teach us as well.   Any teacher will tell you they usually learn more while teaching others, and that is a lot of what I think parenting is about.  

So without getting side-tracked, how does all this relate to "Never giving up?"

I will give you my "motherly" advice on it and then I'd love to hear what you have to say.
I think we should all remember that God is with us at every moment, and we can always ask ourselves "Is where I'm at, is what I'm doing, or is how I'm handling this pleasing to God?"

If our bodies are Gods "temple" then exposing them to abuse be it physical, mental, verbal, sexual, whatever it be is probably not pleasing to God.   Now if we are in that position at a point in our lives we can always remember that "Greater is he who is in me, than who is of the world" and know that Gods power is made perfect in our weakness.   This will help us survive the situation, but I don't think protecting ourselves is "Giving up".   When we harm ourselves, or let others harm us we are destroying Gods temple.  You wouldn't just go by and throw a rock through your church window, or set the tree on fire out front, or walk on the nice carpet with mud caked boots one Sunday, would you?   Then why would it be OK for us to let our minds, bodies and spirit be just as ruined?   I think we can all guess the answer to that.

So being a "Pit-bull in the spirit" and pressing on through negative circumstances I believe has a limit, even in the Lords terms.   We just have to stop worrying about whether we are making the "right" choice, and pray that God leads us straight through the fire and to the other side without really having to make a "choice" at all.   He will do that, he will even pick us up an carry us if it gets too hot.

For me today, I am going to meditate on the circumstances in my life that are "ruining my temple" but I am withstanding because "I' don't want to give up"   vs.   the circumstances in my life where I could be leaning on God more to get me through it even if it means he has to downright pick me up and carry me for awhile (like when you take your toddler on an all day shopping trip or a long walk).   If we eliminate the circumstances that are chiseling away at us little my little and destroying our temple, I'm sure we know what decision God would want us to make, and I'd be willing to bet that if we did that we would be way more equipped to walk beside God through those other circumstances that may seem difficult but are on the right path. 

Make Sense?

It is important to realize that "Giving Up" and "Quiting something that is harming you" are not the same.   (I'm preaching to myself here).   So ask yourself that question as you "weed out" the things in your life that are ruining your "temple" and for the rest remember to pray, for a little weakness is not a reason to give up, it is only an invitation to let Gods power that is within you shine and be made perfect.

Have a blessed day everyone.....its good to be back!!  Thank you for reading.