I read this again the other day. “I will NEVER quit fighting to win against the enemy in my life. After all my bullets are gone from shooting my gun, then I’ll throw that blasted thing at ‘em. When that doesn’t work, then I’ll use my body to punch, kick and bite my way to freedom, and if I still haven’t won when all my teeth are knocked out in the fight, then I’ll try to gum him to death. BUT I WILL NEVER GIVE UP THE FIGHT!”
You are breathing and that means you have a negative challenge in your life — guaranteed.
Finances, illness, addiction, lies about you, heartbreak, physical pain, family controversy … something is hurting you. After struggling long and hard, it can seem that you will never find an answer. So, you can eventually be tempted to give up, but folks, even as hard as it is, don’t you dare give up your fight. Here’s why.
If you quit trying, you have absolutely zero chance of winning. The very second you stop struggling, you wear a stamp on your heart that says, “Totally Defeated,” and total defeat leads to hopelessness. Hopelessness can lead to internalized anger, and hopelessness combined with that anger can push you into depression. A black hole that consumes your thoughts, feelings and actions. Kind of compares to existing in a dark windowless dungeon. Life turns a dull gray, with no spark of interest in your days.
However, if you decide to get stubborn and stay fighting, then you still stand a chance. A chance that disappears completely when you simply surrender. Even slim as that tiny chance may seem, it is the one thing that will keep your hope alive inside of you, and if you take an even better step — deciding to bare your pain to someone you can trust to be on your side — then you increase the chances of keeping your hope. A struggle shared can mean the burden feels just a little lighter — unless you chose your battle companion badly.
Find someone who will listen carefully to you. Someone you can trust to not gossip about you. To be loyal. To care deeply about your pain. To be creative in trying to find solutions for you, when you are too exhausted by the fight to even try anymore. To even whisper a prayer every day on your behalf. To NEVER GIVE UP.
Get that kind of person in your corner. Then you have a fighter beside you, a believer who won’t throw in the towel, a thinker who will keep pushing you to look for new answers, and a shoulder to cry on when a solution hasn’t surfaced yet.
Rare is the person who is truly more effective as a lone Ninja Warrior. We humans are not built for waging war all alone — or for giving up.
Andy E. Bowman has been a Southern Baptist pastor in Oklahoma and Florida for more than 30 years. Recently medically retired from that field, he and his wife Renie now author the column “Coffeetime with Brother Andy,” writing on currently relevant topics from a conservative and humorous viewpoint. The new “Coffeetime With Andy and Renie Podcast” can be found at www.coffeetimecolumn.com or your favorite podcaster site.
