When Endurance Fails
by Dr. Harold Sala
Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? -Galatians 5:7
When you are tempted to give up and quit, do you ever consider what might happen if you didn’t quit, if you tried one more time, if someway, somehow God gave you the strength which you lack and you made it to your goal? That we are temped to quit is a given–everybody, at times, hears a quiet voice within saying, “This just isn’t worth it.”
If the test of your character is what it takes to stop you, then whether you grit your teeth and try again or give up may depend on what’s inside, the kind of stuff you are made of.
In his book Endurance Alfred Lansing tells of the incredible journey of Sir Ernest Shackelton in 1915 across 800 miles of an ice-filled ocean where it was bitterly cold and their safety was constantly threatened by gale-force winds. No one had ever made that exceedingly difficult journey before; and it was not until 1957 that an expedition with heated, tracked vehicles and radio communication attempted what he did.
His journey against all odds has been called one of the most heroic sea journeys of all time. Did he think about quitting? He couldn’t afford that luxury though he knew how grave was the danger that confronted them. He knew that thinking about giving up doesn’t engender the courage which is necessary to survive.
When I wrote my book Profiles in Faith, I analyzed the lives of men and women who have accomplished great things. Did they get discouraged? Of course. Did they ever think about giving up? At times; but they didn’t quit, and that was the difference.
Sir Edmund Hillary, who, along with a sherpa guide by the name of Tensing, was the first to conquer Mt. Everest, was asked how he succeeded when others failed, and he replied that when others had turned back, he took just one more step.
Frankly, the world never has many Ernest Shackeltons, Edmund Hillarys, or Mother Teresas. Common ordinary people–the Peters, Andrews, Jameses and Johns of the everyday world–inhabit it, the moms who have to get their kids off to school and the dads who work two shifts to cover the expenses of a sick child.
But there is one thing for sure: at the end of your strength and your resources there is the helping hand of God who takes you beyond yourself. Modern biographers of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s adventure don’t say much about his prayers, which were earnest and sincere. Time and time again, when the expedition was destined to disaster, the forces of nature subsided and he survived.
Paul wrote to Christians in Central Asia Minor and chided them because they started out in their Christian lives in a burst of glory, but then became discouraged, listened to dissenting voices, and gave up. “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” he asked them (Galatians 5:7, KJV).
Long ago someone said that man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. It is still true. Tempted to give up, to call it quits? Most of the men and women who have accomplished great feats were not a super-cut with a gene pool of greatness but rather ordinary men and women who had a stubborn, determined streak in them which caused them to press on when others quit.
Nothing of value is ever accomplished by giving up. Remember, when you are tempted to give up, pray, “God help me!” and take one more step, and then one more, and that will be enough. Whether you are in Antarctica, an office, a classroom, or a bad marriage, don’t look back and don’t even think of giving up. Go on, and someday you will see the hand of God leading and encouraging you.
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