At some point in your life, you will feel the effects of depression and want to give up or quit. With emotions high, you’ll say “I’m leaving this job, this church, or this family, and they’re going to miss me! They’ll wish they had treated me better!”We’ve all said things like this: “Why continue? It seems the more I try, the worse things get. No one is helping me, I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels and nothing’s getting accomplished. With all this stress, I wonder if it’s worth it.”
Friends, I’ve been there. There are times when you need another Word from the Lord to sustain you through this “slump.” You are not the only leader who’s thought about giving up. Consider the following:
Moses – He is handpicked by God and experiences countless miracles as evidence of his calling. And yet he declares in Numbers 11:15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
Joshua – Moses’ protege, who is also handpicked by God to take Israel across the Jordan river into the Promised Land. However, in Joshua 7:7 he says And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
Elijah – One of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament whose anointing was characterized by fire, wasn’t afraid to confront the Idolatry of his day. Yet, in 1 Kings 19:4 he said, But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
Job – What a man of patience and faith! He had a great beginning and a great ending, but his in-between was tumultuous. Even he wished he had not been born, became suicidal and extremely depressed for a period of time. Job 3:3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived
Jonah – He desired for God to kill him. He was depressed and had no desire to rejoice with the new converts in Nineveh.
Paul is no different!
At this point on this trip alone, he’s been beaten and jailed at Philippi, persecuted at Thessalonica and Berea, ridiculed in Athens and now he hast to face SIN CITY – Corinth. At a low point, a crossroads in his ministry, he is considering quitting.
BUT GOD! Then God speaks to him and in essences says “trying times are not the time to quit trying!”
Acts 18:11 declares that not only did he NOT quit…he continued another year and a half at Corinth. God told him in verses 9 and 10 “it’s too soon to quit!”
I receive phone calls routinely from friends, associates and spiritual sons who are considering quitting the ministry. I do my best to help them spiritually while being empathetic to their emotional distress. It seems at times that pastors, ministers and leaders are dropping off like flies. Honestly, that’s a tough pill for me to swallow to hear someone say they want to “quit the ministry.”
It’s kind of like the story I heard recently about a guy who attends our church who had invited a co-worker to attend. The co-worker enjoyed the church and attended for several weeks until their unbelieving spouse discouraged them from coming anymore. When asked about their lack of attendance, the co-worker said “church should only last for one hour.” Our member said to them, “How dare God ask you to attend service for more than an hour.” “Who does God think He is to expect so much out of us?”
Friends, who are we to “quit” the ministry when God has given us so much! He’s the reason I’m breathing right now. I have air in my lungs at this moment because of Him. Who am I to say to God “Sorry, I don’t feel called anymore. I would rather do my own thing. I’m taking the reins of my life back. I gave you a try God, but things didn’t go like I thought they would or should, so that’s just how it’s going to be God. Hope You understand?”
Notice how God intervenes in Paul’s circumstance.
1. God sends him the promise of His presence.
- Jesus has promised never to leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)
- He is Emmanuel – God with us.
- Even in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) Jesus promises never to leave us.
- No matter what happens, He is with us.
- When friends come and go, He is with us.
- He is closer than a brother!
- In the valley, He is with us.
- When defeat comes, He is with us.
- When discouragement comes, He is with us.
- When sickness comes, He is with us.
- When financial reverse comes, He is with us.
- When heartaches come, He is with us.
- When family problems come, He is with us.
Did you hear the story about the little boy who came home from school very sad? He told his mom that his best friend Billy, who had been absent for three days, came back to school today and told his friends that his dad had died. He said Billy was so upset that he put his head down on his desk and cried. His mom asked him, “What did you do?” He said, “I didn’t know what to do, so I just laid my head on my desk and cried too.”
Isn’t that just like Jesus? He too is touched by the feelings of our infirmities! He cried at the news of Lazarus’ death. Even though He was going to raise him from the dead, His heart was still broke in the meantime. That’s the great thing about God – He walks through the valley with us.
2. God sends him the promise of His protection
Acts 18:10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
- God didn’t say that He wouldn’t experience adversity, just that he would not be harmed.
- They might have killed the Apostle Paul, but not until he was able to say, “I have finished my course.”
- The claimed to have killed Jesus, but not before He said, “it is finished!”
- God has a purpose for your life!
- That purpose is greater than your career choice!
- If you choose to, you can live it out, fearlessly…though there will be persecution, trials and hardships.
- Until your work is done, God is not finished with you.
- The devil may harm you, but he can’t hurt you!
- There are no accidents with God.
- He and He alone will call you home when the time is right.
- Nothing can happen without the Lord’s permission.
It’s too soon to quit!
- Ahead of us, He’s our guide.
- Behind us, He’s our guard.
- Under us, are His everlasting arms.
- Above us, if we’ll look up, He’s ever present with us in all of His glory!
3. God sends him the promise of His potential
Acts 18:10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
- How could God say that? There were no more than a handful of Christians there.
- Yet God speaks with the voice of potential!
- God saw the people of the city as what they would be…not what they presently were.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 what they would become is stated by Paul: 9Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
God saw them for what they would become!
God is saying the same thing to you and to our church – “I have much people in this city!”
When you walk down the street or shop at the mall, look at the people you pass and ask “is this who God is speaking about?” “If so, what can I do to bring it to pass?”