Don’t Quit
I have been watching on TV an incredible tennis match that has broken all of the modern tennis records when it comes to the length of a match and the number of served aces. This match has gone on for more than 10 hours and the match is tied in the fifth set at 59 games each. That means that they have played 118 games in the tie breaking set. It has just been called for the day not because one of the players has given up but because of darkness. I watched the combatants leave the court and they are absolutely exhausted and yet neither of then really wanted to match to be postponed. There was only one word that comes to mind when I think of this kind of incredible match – “perseverence”. It is about hanging in when it would be easier to quit. Hebrews 12:1 – “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that easily entangles and let us run the race with perseverence the race marked out for us.”
Maybe right now you are thinking about quitting something – a marriage – a friendship – a job – your recovery from a long term addiction. It has been something that has created so much stress and anxiety and you are thinking about the relief that might come from quitting. But don’t give up. There might be temporary relief in quitting but there are often so many more gains when we persevere and hang in there. So if you are thinking about quitting – let this little poem help you keep persevering…
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
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 quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow –
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a fair and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit, –
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.
– Author Unknown –