Let’s pray.
Father,
Open my eyes so I can see Your truth.
Open my ears so I can hear Your voice.
Open my mind so I can understand Your Word.
And open my heart so I may receive all that You want me to receive.
AMEN
Have you ever felt like throwing in the towel? Do you know what it means to throw in the towel? It means to quit or to give up.
Have you ever felt like your situation was so hopeless that the only thing you could possibly do was quit and never look back?
Lately, I have been hearing how the enemy has been picking on people in our church. When the enemy attacks you or your family or some aspect of your life, it might be easy to give up and let him have the victory but that is not what we are supposed to do.
Most counselors will agree that the one thing that causes people to want to give up is a loss of hope.
Sadly, people every day and from every walk of life go through this. They get to a point in their lives when they feel like they have lost all hope.
If there was ever anyone in the Bible who had a good reason to lose hope it would have been Job.
Job lost everything. Satan took it all from him.
He lost all his children, all his servants, all his animals, all his crops, and all his possessions.
If that was not enough, he was then afflicted with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Who was responsible for all of his losses and is painful affliction? Satan.
Job was an outstanding man of God and Satan did not like it.
So if anyone knew what it was like to feel despair, Job did. He was so down that he even thought his life would be better if he was dead.
Job had lost hope and he was ready to give up.
Look at Job 6:8-13.
8 “Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, 9 that God would be willing to crush me,
to let loose his hand and cut off my life!
10 Then I would still have this consolation— my joy in unrelenting pain— that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.
11 “What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?
12 Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze?
13 Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me? Job 6:8-13
And look at Job 7:5-10.
5 My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering. 6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
and they come to an end without hope.
7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again. 8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more.
9 As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so one who goes down to the grave does not return. 10 He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more. Job 7:5-10
Job’s story and how he felt and how he reacted relates to us today because the temptation to throw in the towel and give up and lose hope and be in despair is universal and it is timeless.
You can see it over and over again.
Every day people go through the toughest of situations and every day people have to decide if they are going to throw in the towel and give up or if they are going to stand up and take the victory.
Married couples giving up on their spouse. Parents giving up on their children. Employees giving up on the job.
The common denominator in any situation when a person is ready to completely throw in the towel is that they have lost hope. They feel as if the situation is never going to get any better.
Hopelessness always breeds the temptation to give up and quit.
In the most extreme cases of hopelessness people succumb to suicide, hurting others, murder, divorce, or running away.
But in most cases hopelessness takes on the form of what psychologists call “quiet depression.”
Quiet depression happens when people go through the motions of life but in reality have given up and have become emotionally detached. Basically it is when a person stops caring about things even though they continue on.
There is a temptation to throw in the towel when the enemy attacks and even if you don’t throw in the towel, the quiet depression can creep into your life and cause damage to you personally and to those around you.
It is possible that you who are listening to this message are facing this issue today.
Maybe you have lost hope and are ready to throw in the towel. You might be hiding it real good from those around you but you can’t hide it from God.
Maybe you are not at the point of throwing in the towel but you have been suffering from this quiet depression and you have just been going through the motions, not really caring about anything.
Maybe today you are considering giving up and it doesn’t matter what the preacher says.
As children of God we have the answers to the tough questions of life when you feel like throwing in the towel.
The Word of God answers the question, “How do we hold on when we feel like giving up?”
The Word of God gives us the answers for the questions, “How do we find the strength to persevere? Where does the power come from to keep us strong?”
Today I want to share with you three key thoughts to help you during those times when you feel like throwing in the towel.
Key #1 – Understand that God is in control.
No matter how hopeless, painful, unpleasant, or discouraging the circumstances are, God is in control.
And not only is God in control, but God also has a purpose and that purpose does not involve His children giving up, living in despair, or living in panic.
When we go through events and times in our lives that cause us to want to give up we need to remember that God has a reason for everything that happens.
We may not always understand the reason or the purpose but that is when our faith in God kicks in; faith that a loving and all-knowing God is in control and working in our lives.
Job lost everything and suffered much, then finally in the last few chapters of the book of Job, God speaks to him.
When God had finished speaking to Job, God gave him an opportunity to reply. Here is an important part of his reply.
2 “I know that you can do all things: no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2
No one can defeat or change the plans and purposes of God.
In 597 BC the kingdom of Judah was being held captive by the nation of Babylon. The people of Judah were in what seemed to be a hopeless situation.
It was during this time that the weeping prophet Jeremiah brought a message of hope to the people.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13
God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therefore, I tell you, God has a word for you today. "For I know the plans I have for you...plans to give you a future and a hope."
Though the original hearers of this message faced a hopeless situation, they’d lost homes, land, and their independence.
God looked past their present situation and looked to their future. He saw beyond their circumstances.
Perhaps you are in the midst of a trial right now and you feel like throwing in the towel. God has a word for you. He has plans for you, and they are good plans.
God looks beyond your circumstances, no matter what trial you are facing. God has plans for you.
Don't believe the heresy, spread from too many pulpits in our land, that Christians never suffer. Don't be lulled to sleep with soft messages. God is using that trial, the heartache, the headache to shape you. Pain will give way to a future hope.
However, I warn you: God's plans sometimes change.
God doesn't change, but his plans sometimes do. You can read Ezekiel 33 to see how God plans one thing, only to change his plans based upon the actions of his people.
The only thing that can stop God's good plans for you is you.
Each day we stand at the crossroads and we have a choice to make. Will I serve God and do things his way, or will I go on in my self-willed ways?
We need to get beyond the selfishness and self-will and follow the One who has set the course and is in control.
God is in control.
Key # 2 Trust in God’s Power.
Worship leader and song writer Don Moen wrote the song, God Will Make a Way.
The words are, “God will make a way, where there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see. He will make a way for me. He will be my guide, hold me closely to His side. With love and strength for each new day, He will make a way, He will make a way.”
There is such an awesome truth to that song.
17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. Jeremiah 32:17 NKJV
Nothing is too hard for God! Absolutely nothing!
You may say, “But pastor, you don’t know my spouse…” The Word of God says NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR GOD!
“You don’t know my boss.” NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR GOD!
“You don’t know my situation.” NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR GOD!
“You don’t know my pain.” NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR GOD!
Nothing is too hard, to difficult, too impossible for God.
He specializes in accomplishing the impossible.
He can raise the dead, heal the blind, deaf, and the mute.
He is the Creator of all things.
He can heal the broken hearted and He can restore the broken relationships!
If it seems hopeless, God is able to do whatever it takes to fulfill His plans and purpose in our lives.
We need to trust in God’s power.
Key # 3 Place your hope in Christ.
Don’t put your hope in your pastor.
Don’t put your hope in your parents or your spouse, or your kids or anyone else other than Christ.
Our true hope is in Jesus and Him alone. He is the only one who will never fail us or let us down. It is through Jesus that we have forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life.
Song writer William Bradbury said it best, “My hope is built on nothing less that Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
The Apostle Paul wrote these same sentiments in Romans 15:13.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
This is God’s plan for our lives. In the midst of everything that looks hopeless, God offers us hope and joy and a peace which surpasses all understanding.
When things look bad, when there seems to be no hope, when the situation looks desperate, don’t throw in the towel, turn to Jesus!
Turn to Jesus and take authority over the enemy! Satan has no power against Jesus Christ. Satan is defeated!
The Word of God is full of example after example of this truth. The enemy is defeated!
When David defeated Goliath it showed us that victory comes from the Lord. It is given by grace and it is received by faith.
David believed he could win. Saul didn’t. We see the same thing in Job. Scripture tells us that Job never sinned in all that happened to Him.
He never stopped believing that God was in control. His friends didn’t believe but Job did.
Unbelief is all around us and it will pull us down into hopelessness. We need to remember that God will never fail us. We have the victory.
1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my right and my cause;
you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.
5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.
7 The LORD reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He will judge the world in righteousness;
he will govern the peoples with justice.
9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Psalm 9:1-9 NIV
Let us understand that God is in control.
Let us trust in God’s power.
Let us place our hope in Christ.
We don’t have to flounder in hopelessness but we can walk in victory.
Are you feeling like throwing in the towel?
Are you suffering from quiet depression?
If you are call upon the Lord!
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