Give Up!

I believe we are born to be fighters, not quitters....not giver uppers.

Give people a cause to get behind, and we don't give up even when the outcome looks bleak.

In sports, players/individuals go to the last 10th of a second....giving it their all, pouring it on....to cross the finish line, to score a point, to make a goal, to beat their own best time.

I think that is why my thought process to give up is so counter intuitive to my very nature. Probably yours too. That may be where many of our problems stem from.

In the past, I have been much better at feeling in tune with God. Those are also the times that I was having a time of devotions sometime during the day. I was reading the Bible. I was listening. I prayed more...not just sentence, "help me" prayers. I danced and sang to praise music. I went to church. I took time to be close to God and, more importantly, to let Him be close to me.

Recently, I can feel myself slipping. I don't take as much time to just be in God's presence. I rely more on ME than on HIM. This has not turned out well in the past. Maybe it seems so temporarily, but then LIFE starts to creep up and get the better of me....and I am reminded....again. Still?

God is not pushy. He waits patiently, often on the sidelines because that is where we PUT Him. God doesn't just want to be a cheerleader, there to encourage us. He wants to be IN the game. The captain even.

God wants me to give up. Not give up on myself, but to let Him in to deal with some of the life stuff that is just TOO heavy to carry on my own! Oh....I've been trying. Not very successfully, when I'm honest with myself. Honestly, we can be our own worst enemy when we try to be honest. I can put on a nice smile. I can sound like I'm doing all the "right" things and God feels far away. GOD DIDN'T MOVE!

Are you ready to give up?

Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)
For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV) Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.