Bible Study: What the Bible Says About Not Giving Up!
Delve into the topic of perseverance in the face of challenges through biblical insights. Explore the stories of individuals who struggled with despair but found strength to press on. Gain practical solutions to overcome feelings of wanting to quit and discover the encouragement the Bible offers in times of difficulty.
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Hard Topics Bible Study Just Don t Quit: What The Bible Says About Giving Up! September 12, 2023 Refuge Church Ministries II Pastors Brown and Brown
Objectives All of us at one point in life or another have wanted to give up. Even those of us in the body of Christ have considered throwing in the towel when life felt overwhelmingly difficult. Galatians 6:9 reminds us not to become weary in well doing, for when the time is right, we will reap a harvest if we don t give up. This study will examine some familiar biblical figures that felt like giving up even on life itself. By the conclusion of this study the participant will: a) name 3 biblical figures that wanted to give up, what their issues were and how they pressed forward; b) recall 2 effective ways to move beyond feelings of despair; c) name 3 reasons we can feel like giving up on life; d) memorize 3 Scriptures that have to do with giving up.
Agenda Next Two Weeks Week 1: Key Phrases about quitting Discuss article by Marcia Hornock Biblical Characters ready to quit Brown & Brown nuggets Workable solutions Week 2: Bible Study on Suicide What does the Bible say about giving up
.Life is strange with its twists and turns as everyone sometimes learns; and many failures turn about when we might have won had we stuck it out .. And you want to smile, but you have to sigh .When care is pressing you down a bit, rest if you must but don t you quit... . So, stick to the fight when you are hardest hit, its when things seem worse that you must not quit! Some Key Phrases . Don t Quit
Study Article: Study Article: Bible People Bible People Who Wanted Who Wanted To Die! To Die! Author: Marcia Hornok, GES Webmaster in Grace in Focus Articles January 1, 2019 A 46-year-old believer whose husband died after a debilitating illness, felt like she could not go on. She said, I don t know if it was self- pity, if I was seeking negative attention, or if grief made me feel like I would self destruct. My gut-wrenching sadness at times seemed unpreventable and untreatable. Often the words of the Bible were meaningless to me I guess I was numb. Sometimes I wished I could end my life, and even planned how to do it. Why didn t I call someone? Because I didn t want pity. I wanted to be strong and resilient, and for me, I think, that was pride.
Quick Discussion What strikes you most about the issues in this article? What would you say to someone in this predicament that says, the words of the Bible were meaningless to me?
Genesis 27:46; 28:5 I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth (Hittites); if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth what good will my life be to me?...So Isaac sent Jacob away. Her Issues: Her depression resulted from hostility between her twin sons. Her plot to deceive her husband into giving the Covenant Blessing to Jacob, resulted in Esau planning to murder Jacob after Isaac died. Text doesn t say that she verbalized her depression to Isaac or exaggerated it to protect Jacob from Esau, but Isaac lived another 80 years, and she died without seeing Jacob again. Rebekah: Family Conflicts Rebekah: Family Conflicts
God had given Solomon his wish for wisdom and understanding, yet he still stated at one point Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun (Ecclesiastes 2:17, 20). Solomon wrote 10 more chapters about life being futile, but came to the correct conclusion in 12:13, Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. Solomon: Life is Vanity Solomon: Life is Vanity
Elijah defeated the 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, causing the Israelites to acknowledge the Lord as God. However, King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were not convinced and promised to kill Elijah by the next morning But he himself went a day s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and he said, It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers! (1 Ki 19:4) Hornok says If he really wanted to die, he would have turned himself in! Elijah: Physically and Emotionally Exhausted Elijah: Physically and Emotionally Exhausted
Job: God is Unfair Job s sufferings made him curse the day he was born and wished to die. Why did I not die at birth?...Why is light given to whim who is in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, who long for death, but it does not come, and search for it more than hidden treasures; who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they can find the grave? (Job 3:11, 20-22) God eventually answered him with a series of questions, which Job could not answer. This taught Job that he did not need to know God s reasons, but to rest in God s compassion and mercy. (Jas 5:11)
Jonah wanted Nineveh destroyed, not evangelized. So, God gave Jonah a time-out in a dark, turbulent, slimy, and stinky place. Jonah repented and preached to Nineveh. They repented and God withheld his judgement-just what Jonah feared! But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So, he prayed to the Lord, and said Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live! (Jonah 4:1,3) Jonah s last recorded words were, It is right for me to be angry, even unto death (Jonah 4:9). Scripture does not say what happens to Jonah after that. However, if he wrote the book that bears his name, he understood the truth of God s compassion (Jonah 4:2). Jonah: Angry At God
After conversion, Saul the persecutor of Christians became Paul the persecuted. In 2 Cor 11:23-28, he listed some of the beatings, imprisonments, and shipwrecks endured. He said of his trouble in Asia that we are burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we are despaired even of life. (2 Cor 1:8) Hornok says of Paul: But Paul had learned that when he was weak, God s grace was sufficient to give him strength (2 Cor 3:5, 12:9-10). In fact, Paul said that facing death had a distinct benefit: Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. 2 Cor 1:9. Paul: Overwhelmed by Trials Paul: Overwhelmed by Trials
Brown and Brown: Hard Subtopics in this Study Family Conflicts how often has this caused suicidal thoughts in families? Life is Vanity (or life is meaningless) Often seen in people who ultimately commit or attempt to commit suicide Physically and Emotionally Drained Goes without saying God is Unfair when individuals lose perspective on God s sovereignty and purposes, they often blame God and say he s unfair to them Angry at God we often stay this way same reasons as the unfairness of God previous bullet Overwhelmed by Trials simply overwhelmed is close enough
Anybody, even believers can despair of life and wish to die, but none of these Bible people died when they wanted to or took their own lives. The key may have been that all verbalized (or wrote about) their feelings. The story of the 46-year-old woman: went to a grief support group for six weeks, learned to be content as a single mother, and years later God gave her another happy marriage. Hornok s Summary Anyone can become depressed or hopeless that they despair of life. But taking one s own life solves nothing and causes overwhelming grief for those who love you. Your situation is not impossible. In time it will change. Trust in God and not yourself. And don t be too proud to open up to others. It will be therapeutic. Psalm 31:13 says our times are in God s hands. If God determines when and how we die, we will die on time!
Hornok says we learn: Rebekah tried to solve her own problem, but never saw her favorite son again. Solomon journaled his feelings in the God-inspired book of Ecclesiastes. Job accepted God s inscrutability and sovereignty. Jonah may have stayed angry. Paul resolved to keep his eyes on God. Those who fared best entrusted themselves to God and moved forward. Workable Solution: Trust God and Tell Someone
