Don’t Give Up
We have all been there. Some call it being “down in the dumps.” It’s the feeling we get, when it seems that nothing we attempt to do succeeds. The lofty ambitions which once spurred us on. now seem unattainable. We have failed.
History is filled with examples of people who experienced big setbacks, but who went on trying and achieved great success in the end. At Fort Necessity, during the French and Indian War, a young officer was forced to capitulate to the enemy. But George Washington is not usually remembered as the man who surrendered to France. Thomas Edison failed hundreds of times in his early attempts to develop the light bulb, yet we regard him as one of the greatest inventors of all time.
What often presents the biggest problem is when others tell us we can’t succeed. We tend to be influenced by negative thinking expressed by those around us. Consider the following five individuals who had the determination to overcome the pessimism of others:
- He was called a “slow learner” and labeled as being “uneducable.”
- He flunked the sixth grade and was considered “dull” and “hopeless.”
- He was labeled “too stupid to learn.”
- As a young boy he loved to draw and sketch, but was told that he had no artistic talent.
- In his study of chemistry he was once rated as “mediocre.”
You’ve probably heard of each of them:
- Albert Einstein
- Winston Churchill
- Thomas Edison
- Walt Disney
- Louis Pasteur
Don’t let past failures cause you to quit trying. Learn whatever lessons you can from them, then go forward wiser and more effective in your future efforts. Keep working to break that bad habit. Continue trying to influence friends and family to serve the Lord, even though previous attempts have done little good.
We need to remember Paul’s exhortation:
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1Cor 15:58)
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