When You Feel Like Giving Up

Every now and then that feeling comes. The feeling of wanting to give up. You just can’t seem to get ahead, so why bother? Today, I want to share a story with you about how a game of Candyland encouraged me to not give up.

Candyland

My daughter Analiah and I were playing an intense game of Candyland. Analiah was way ahead of me and I had resigned to losing. A few turns later I moved in closer. The next card Analiah drew set her back. She was not happy. I continued to move ahead. A turn later Analiah drew another card that set her even further back. She cried, complained and let it be known she was not happy.

Keep playing

After I identified with Analiah’s feelings, I encouraged her to keep playing and not give up. I pointed out that she could easily come back and win. Analiah decided to keep going and actually ended up winning.

Encouragement

How does this story apply to you and me? What do we do when we feel like giving up in the “game of life”? The best thing we can do is turn to Jesus and His Word. Here are some of my favorite verses to go to when I feel like giving up:

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 3:12-14

Take Hold of Jesus

The first thing we need to do when we feel like giving up is to take hold of Jesus. We do this by talking to Him and spending time filling our minds with His truth. Secondly, we press on towards Jesus. Even when something happens that we aren’t happy about, we just keep turning back to Him and receiving our strength from Him.

The next time you feel like giving up, I encourage you to pause. Take a deep breath and ask Jesus to fill you with His peace. Take hold of all that He has for you. Keep “playing the game of life” and pressing on towards heaven. We have so much to look forward too!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I need You. Too often I feel like giving up when life gets hard. Please help me to take hold of You and keep pressing on. I know that through You, I can do all things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.