Do not give up! or About faith

Quite often it happens that I go to the business with huge energy and excitment, decided – but sooner, or even sooner than sooner I am pushed back by something that tells me it is a waste of tries, that I am not good enough for it and so on. Funny (not quite funny) is that we give up sooner than we can even get to the right source of objective facts about the whole situation. How can we know whether to go on in this or not?

Apostle Paul had pretty smart head, which I cannot tell about me. Then, we can look at his life as an example. Acts 14 tell about Paul preaching in Lystrae and healing the cryple by the power of Jesus Christ (Act 14:10). The crowd, later, got upset (the reasons why would take our attention from the topic with no use) and started to stone Paul. They stoned him so hard that they thought Paul was dead (Act 14:19).

Something like that happens even to us, am I right? Sometimes we start with great attitude, good faith and the excitement, at the start we even get luck and everything is going great – but then, suddenly, the failure comes, with the „stoning“. How do we react? Do we find our selves as defeated and „stoned to death“? Do we give up?

Disciples took stoned Paul out of the city, where Paul woke up and came back to the city, where he was stoned at the first place (Act 14:20). Did Paul find himself as defeated, „stoned“? No way! Paul DID NOT give up, he got up and went back – to face it as the man. And the very next day he continued with his previous plan – he went on spreading the gospel (Act 14:21).

I do want to encourage you to not give up untimely. We think the fight is lost but this does not have to be true. They can stone you to death, or even „stone you to death“, but God is faithful and he will not let us be tested beyond our abilities (1 Cor 10:13). OMG, for you can even raise people from the dead! Believe and do not be afraid to stay in our fight. Amen.