DON’T GIVE UP

TOPIC: DON’T GIVE UP

TEXT: 1 Samuel 30:6

6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

Why people give up:

Definitions:

1. Disappointment

Disappointment is feeling unhappy because someone or something was not as good as you hoped or expected. When we feel unhappy because our hopes and expectations are unfulfilled, we experience a feeling of sadness or disappointment. 1Peter 5:10-11; Isaiah 55:8-9

1Peter 5:10-11 – 10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Isaiah 55:8-9 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

2. Frustration

Frustration is a common emotional response to opposition, related to anger, annoyance and disappointment. Frustration arises from the perceived resistance to the fulfilment of an individual’s will or goal and is likely to increase when a will or goal is denied or blocked. There are two types of frustration: internal and external.

Internal frustration may arise from challenges in fulfilling personal goals, desires, instinctual drives and needs, or dealing with perceived deficiencies, such as a lack of confidence or fear of social situations.

External causes of frustration involve conditions outside an individual’s control, such as a physical roadblock, a difficult task, or the perception of wasting time. There are multiple ways individuals cope with frustration such as passive–aggressive behaviour, anger, or violence, although frustration may also propel positive processes via enhanced effort and strive. Psalm 37:8-9; Psa 145:18; Isaiah 41:10

Psalm 37:8-9 – 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

Psalms 145:18 – “The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.”

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

3. Discouragement:

This is a loss of confidence and enthusiasm.

It is a curtain of doubt that falls on you when optimism over a certain outcome is ripped away.

Note: A lie from Satan is the source of every discouragement. Fear, unbelief, self-pity, and self-condemnation are by-products of Satan’s lies. You become susceptible to Satan’s lies when you lose sight of God’s ways or do not put your confidence in Christ’s provision for your every need. Deuteronomy 31:8; Jeremiah 29:11

Deuteronomy 32:8 – “And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed”

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”

4. Oppression

Oppression is a feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety,

Oppression is a spiritual attack from the outside rather than inward possession by demonic powers. Oppression is usually caused by an attack of Satan upon your mind with fear, doubt, worry, torment, etc., that result in a heaviness of spirit–almost like a cloud that surrounds you. A believer can be oppressed, but not possessed because the Holy Spirit cannot abide in the same vessel with a demon. 1John 3:17-18; Psalm 82:3; Proverbs 29:7 (NIV)

1 John 3:17-18 (NIV) – “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

Psalm 82:3 (NIV) – “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and oppressed.”

Proverbs 29:7 (NIV) – “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.”

5. Depression

Depression is defined as a mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life.

Depression can be Spiritual. Spiritual depression generally refers to a loss of spiritual vitality and joy. In terms of Christianity, experiencing a spiritual depression might involve:

Losing touch with your faith.

Forgetting God, or struggling to find time for spiritual study.

Focusing more on past mistakes than changes you might make to do better in the future.

A general sense of unhappiness or melancholy.

Psalm 42:8-9 – 8 Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. 9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy.

What to do:

1. Always trust in the Lord no matter what. Psalm 37:4-6 (4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.)

2. Study the Word of God. (Make the Bible your friend). Psalm 119:11 – (11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee)

3. Know who you walk with (who is your friend?). 1 Corinthians 15:33 – (33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.)

4. Don’t forsake the assembly of the brethren. (Attend fellowship). Hebrews 10:25 – (25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.)

Conclusion:

Brethren, we are faced with hard times now that the nation is not friendly, things are becoming very difficult. It looks as if God is not answering. Listen, God sees and knows and

He will answer

He will intervene

He will speak

Just don’t lose faith in Him.

Read this:

Joshua 1:9 – Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Psalm 31:24 – Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Isaiah 40:31 – But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 41:10-14 – 10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. 12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. 13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. 14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

John 10:10 – The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

John 16:33 – These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Romans 8:26 – Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Romans 8:31 – What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Romans 15:13 – Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

1 Corinthians 15:58 – Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Hebrews 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Hebrews 12:1 – Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about* with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us

Rev. Dr. A. A Obe