It’s Never Quitting Time
By Clarence L. Haynes Jr.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” - Galatians 6:9
When I was in college, I used to work the overnight shift for UPS. This required me to be at work at 11:30 PM and I would not get off until 5 AM. After leaving work, I would then go to school for an 8:15 philosophy class. Let’s just say I made up for any missed sleep I had from working overnight. As we got close to the end of the shift, we would get to what we called quitting time. That was the time to finish working and get out of there. Because of the physical nature of the work, every employee loved quitting time.
The urge to quit is real.
With doing good or doing the work of the Lord, there is no such thing as quitting time. If you are doing what God has called you to do, then it requires you to stay in the fight and resist the urge you may face to want to quit, even more so when you are not seeing fruit from the work you are doing.
In February 2018, my wife and I launched our ministry called The Bible Study Club. The purpose of this was to provide a platform for discipleship for members of our church who needed it. Our church was 75 miles from our house, so for us, this was simply a matter of practicality. We met every Thursday, and in our first few sessions, we had about eight to ten people and we knew all of them because they were members of our church or friends and family.
By the fall of 2019, we were pushing forward in the ministry, and I remember distinctly one night we came on zoom to do the Bible study, and there were four people on the line. Two of them were Diana and me. At that point, I thought about all the hours of preparation we had put in, the sacrifices we had made to help people grow in their walk in the Lord, and it felt like people just weren’t interested. In my human nature, I got discouraged and wanted to give up. However, we pressed forward.
Shortly after that, something amazing happened because God opened a door for me to write for Biblestudytools.com. Without it being my intention, more people heard about the Bible Study and started showing up on Thursday nights. These were people we did not know, and we were totally surprised. To make a long story short, this trend continued over the next few months and has continued to this day.
God’s Word remains true even if you want to quit.
The reason I am writing this is that what God has said in Galatians is true. So often, when you are doing good things, you work and toil for a while, sometimes a long while, and despite your best efforts, you don’t see any fruit. These moments are where all the questions come into play and the desire to quit rises within you. My encouragement to you is don’t. It is quite possible you are standing on the verge of reaping the harvest of all your hard work, and if you just hang on a little longer, you will see that harvest.
When you feel the desire to quit, you must go back to why you are doing this. When you remember your why and you know you are doing what God has told you to do, he gives you the resolve to keep going. For me, I had to refocus, and that kept me going.
I can’t promise you the harvest is going to come in the next week, next month, or when it will come. But if you will be faithful to what God has called you to do, a harvest and reward is waiting for you. It might not be one you see in this lifetime, but it will be one that will last forever. I implore you to stay in the fight because God is faithful, and he will reward you for your faithful labor if you do not give up.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
Many times, the urge to quit is strongest right when you are on the verge of your breakthrough.
Further Reading:
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/diego_cervo
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