When Faith Says “Give Up”

To say someone has faith implies that they believe in someone or something. Regardless of circumstances or feelings, faith says “I will keep going and stand firm simply because I believe”.  So, when would faith ever tell you to just give up? Well, it does a lot actually, we just rarely listen.

There are so many things in this world and in our Christian walk that requires us to work and serve, to break and grow, to weep and pray. Yet I would say that there are also an equal amount of things that we should just step back and let go of. Our society today (particularly women) believe that it is our responsibility to fix things and make sure everyone around us is happy. Although this has its place, there are many times when we have our hands in the pot but there’s already a cook in the kitchen! (You know the old saying; “Too many hands in the pot spoil the sauce”.) God is at work in everyone and everything around us. There will be times when He calls and uses us to do His will, but there are tons of times when He tells us to get the heck out of the way and let Him work!

Good examples of these times may be:

– A loved one’s spiritual or personal growth (or lack thereof)

– Desire for a new job opportunity

– Wishing someone else would see their own sin

– Longing for a true love or healed relationship

Side-note disclaimer: There are obviously exceptions when God DOES want you to do something regarding the aforementioned, but I’ve found that these tend to be some of the most common times that God wants us just to step back and trust. 

I read a short poem a long time ago on a key chain, and it is the perfect picture of the times when we try so hard to do God’s work instead of “giving up” control and allowing Him full reign. Being a poet myself, I took those stanzas to heart and never forgot them.

“Broken Dreams”

As children bring their broken toys

with tears for us to mend,

I brought my broken dreams to God

because He was my friend.

But then instead of leaving Him 

in peace to work alone,

I hung around and tried to help

with ways that were my own.

At last I snatched them back and cried,

“How could you be so slow?”

“My child,” He said, “What could I do?

You never did let go.”

(Author Unknown)

So, what does this have to do with faith? Faith is believing completely in someone or something. For Christians, that is the Almighty Creator who loves us and knows what’s best for us. However, there are so many times when we completely forget Who really is in control and we think we have to take driver’s seat in order for anything to get done; or at least done right. What does that say about the way we truly view God?

This doesn’t have to pertain only to the big things in life… the little things we deal with everyday reflect our heart’s condition just as much. How easily do we get stressed out, impatient, bitter, form a grudge, snap at people, get overwhelmed, etc. {Man, I am preaching to myself here. I’m really good at that faith thing until those everyday aggravations rear their nasty little heads.} Faith believes that even in the stress, God is in complete control and we don’t have to be. That never means that we quit trying to be the person we’re supposed to be or think that we never have to lift a finger in response to a stirring of the Spirit of God. That DOES mean though, that we can take a deep breath and remember that while life is sometimes chaotic and uncontrollable, our Heavenly Father remains in complete control.

The next time you think faith only pertains to what you do on Sunday morning, remember who SHOULD be in charge of what you do EVERY DAY! That is where true faith comes in and that is where our peace begins.

“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!” (Luke 12:27-28)