Crossroads: Don’t Give Up

Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21

Your Story

Have you ever been ready to quit? Has something ever frustrated you so much that you were ready to give up? Talk about that with your family. Did you give up? Talk about how it felt if you did, or how you kept going if you didn’t.

My Story and the Bible Story

I love learning different languages. I took French for seven years in high school and college and I absolutely loved it. I knew what I was doing and I was good at it. When I got to seminary, I had to take a semester each of Hebrew and Greek. I loved Hebrew and grasped it quickly. It was like a puzzle, because you have to read Hebrew right to left instead of left to right. But when I got to Greek, I had a hard time. I didn’t understand why the language worked the way it did, and it was literally “all Greek to me.” I was frustrated, and I wanted to give up. But eventually, the more I studied, the more I understood it.

Read Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21.

Sometimes we are ready to give up. We get frustrated with something and we want to quit. Maybe for you it’s a team sport. You made the team but you’ve been stuck on the bench all season. Everyone else gets to play, but you’re still sitting there waiting. You’re tired of waiting and ready to quit. Or maybe it’s math class. Maybe you just don’t understand and you’re ready to give up. Maybe you’re being bullied at school and no matter what you do, the bully doesn’t stop. You are ready to give up. Whatever it is, there are times in our lives when things are hard, when we are discouraged and ready to quit. In those times, we can turn to passages like Psalm 145, where it says that “GOD gives a hand to those down on their luck, gives a fresh start to those ready to quit.” God sees everything and knows exactly how we feel. God knows when we are ready to quit, and God is there, ready to help us through. God can give us a hand and help us make a fresh start. All we have to do is pray and ask God for help.

Does that mean that the bully will stop or you will suddenly understand math class? Maybe, but maybe not. What it does mean is that the God who created the universe will help you make it through. God will give you the strength to keep going and will be right there beside you, encouraging you not to give up. As Psalm 145 says, “Everything GOD does is right—the trademark on all his works is love. GOD’s there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it. He does what’s best for those who fear him—hears them call out, and saves them. GOD sticks by all who love him.” God sticks by you through the good and the bad, when you are happy and when you are sad, when things are great and when you’re ready to give up. So don’t give up, because God is right there with you, ready to help.

Discussion and Prayer

1. Ask your children to talk about a time when they wanted to quit or give up. What happened? What did they do?
2. Talk about ways you and your family can encourage one another when someone wants to give up.
3. Talk about ways to encourage others (friends, people at school, etc.) when they want to give up.
4. Pray, thanking God for helping us not give up. Thank God for always being there for us.

Rev. Jessica Asbell is the Minister to Children and Families at First Baptist Roswell, where she has been serving since 2012. She has written the children’s curriculum for Smyth & Helwys’s Annual Bible Study for the books of Daniel; Ezekiel; Luke; Jonah; 1 Corinthians; 1, 2, 3 John and Jude; Colossians; The Story of Israel’s Ancestors: Living toward a Promise; and Where Faith & Family Meet: A Book of Weekly Devotions. She has also written for CBF’s Spark and Form and for Affect in CBF’s fellowship! magazine. Married to Jonathan Oravec, Jessica reads every chance she gets.