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When You Feel Like Giving Up

There are moments in every believer’s life when the fight feels too long, too hard, and too heavy to keep going. You have prayed, cried, and done everything you know to do, yet the situation has not changed. It is in these moments that the temptation to quit whispers the loudest.

But if you belong to Jesus, that small voice inside urging you not to give up is not weakness. It is the Holy Spirit reminding you that your story is not over. That tug to keep going is the evidence of a promise still alive inside you.

The Struggle Is a Gift

In her recent podcast episode, Jaime Luce reminds us that the struggle itself is a gift. It may not feel like it, but that tension between wanting to give up and knowing you cannot is God’s way of anchoring your purpose.

Galatians 6:9 says,

“Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

That single word shall matters. It is conditional. You shall reap if you do not faint. Every prayer you have prayed, every seed you have sown, and every act of obedience has meaning. Do not waste your investment by quitting before the harvest.

Faith Requires a Fight

Scripture never tells us to quit. It tells us to fight the good fight of faith. In 2 Samuel 23, Eleazar stood his ground when everyone else fled. While others retreated, he fought until his hand froze to his sword, and Scripture says, “The Lord brought about a great victory that day.”

Eleazar did not win by strength alone. God fought through him. That is the power of endurance. When you stand firm, heaven stands with you.

Like Eleazar, we are called to fight not just for ourselves but for the Kingdom of God. Your obedience, perseverance, and faith are weapons that push back darkness and make room for God’s victory to be seen.

When Kings Stop Fighting: The Danger of Quitting

King David’s fall with Bathsheba began when he stopped showing up for battle. Scripture says it happened “at the time when kings go out to war,” but David stayed home.

When we disengage from the fight God calls us to, we open the door to compromise, confusion, and consequence. David’s decision to stay behind led to moral failure, tragedy, and loss. The lesson is clear: nothing good happens when you quit.

Your fight might look different. It could be prayer, parenting, ministry, marriage, or leadership. But the same principle applies. When you stay in the battle, you stay under God’s covering.

Armor Up: How to Stay in the Fight

Ephesians 6:13 reminds us,

“Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day.”

Victory begins with a choice. You must decide, intentionally, to put on the armor of God every day:

• Helmet of Salvation – Protect your mind from lies and despair.
• Breastplate of Righteousness – Guard your heart from guilt and shame.
• Belt of Truth – Keep your life anchored to the Word.
• Shoes of Peace – Walk in stability even when the road is rough.
• Shield of Faith – Quench the fiery darts of doubt.
• Sword of the Spirit – Speak the Word boldly and consistently.

Gratitude Changes the Battle

When you are weary, shift your focus. Gratitude changes perspective. As Jaime shares, “When you list all the things God has done for you, the thing you are fighting becomes smaller.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 says,

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Gratitude positions you for victory because it reminds you of God’s past faithfulness. If He has done it before, He will do it again.

Keep Standing: Your Reaping Season Is Coming

Every spiritual victory begins with the decision not to quit. The enemy does not fear your strength. He fears your perseverance. If you can keep showing up, keep praying, and keep trusting, you shall reap if you faint not.

Do not let the exhaustion of this season rob you of the harvest God promised. Every battle builds endurance, and every struggle strengthens your faith. Stay in the fight.

Encouragement

When you are tempted to give up, take it 15 minutes at a time. Breathe. Pray. Refocus. Then take the next 15. One day you will look back and realize those small moments of faith added up to a lifetime of victory.

Stay in the fight. Nothing good happens when you quit.CTA paragraph for her site (jaimeluce.com)?

Where to Dig In

(00:08) Staying in the Fight
(08:07) Don’t Quit, Stay in the Fight
(26:14) The Battle Within
(36:12) The Fall of King David
(44:54) The Fight of Faith
(01:02:13) Words of Encouragement and Connection

Full Transcript

This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.

00:08 – Jaime Luce (Host)
Welcome to the Jaime Luce Podcast. Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you are new to this podcast, my hope, my prayer is that by spending some time in the Word of God, that you will leave encouraged, equipped, strengthened, maybe directed, sometimes maybe corrected, but that you will find what you need on the pages of Scripture. We know that this Word is unchanging, that the Scripture teaches us that heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away, that when you can dig into God’s word and find the hidden treasures there, they can change your life, they can give you what you need, they can strengthen you for your journey. So that’s what we’re about today. I hope that you will take some steps to build your faith. Get out, if you need it, to take some notes, maybe something to journal about what you receive from the Lord. Maybe you don’t need to be your typical note taker, but maybe you’re the kind of person that you can hear something and when the Lord speaks to you, you just need to hurry up and write that down, because if you’re like me, you’ll forget and you don’t want to forget. You want to hold on to those things. Sometimes I feel like the Holy Spirit, lord, I hope that this comes out okay. It’s like popcorn popping and all of a sudden something pops up, but if I’m not careful I’ll miss it. You know, it’s like when my granddaughters love to blow bubbles and we’re blowing bubbles, but once you get it, they it, you’re disappearing. You’re chasing after the bubbles, trying to get them. And for me, the Word of God. Sometimes, when I’m listening to something, when I’m learning something, when I’m digging in, I’ll have these very quick but very deep, insightful thoughts where the Holy Spirit is prompting something or you understand something, something is revealed to you, there’s something of value that pops up and if we’re not careful, sometimes we’ll forget, we wait till the end and we think I won’t remember. Now, the good thing is that you could always go back and listen again, but you may not have the same thought again. So I just encourage you if you’re not driving your car, get out something that you can write with and if the Holy Spirit prompts you, you can take some notes.

02:27
I’ll give you the scripture references, of course, as we go through them, but today we are going to be talking about staying in the fight. You need to stay in the fight and I don’t know about you. I can say this truly for myself and for so many that I have talked to over the years. I feel like this is the human condition, that everybody experiences this at some time.

02:54
But there comes a point when you want to quit. You really, you know you have fought so long, you have fought so hard, you’ve exhausted all your strength and you just you don’t think it’s worth it anymore. And you know what I’m talking about. You’ve cried, you’ve prayed, you have fought, you have drained all of your resources and your ideas and your plans have not panned out, so to speak, and you’ve had the thought I’ve done all that I know to do, all that I can do, and I just have no other options. I just have to quit. What do you do when you want to quit? But something deep down inside of you and I know you know what I’m talking about if you’re honest, let’s get honest right now, okay, if you’re honest, when you’re wanting to quit, what do you do when there’s this little something very deep inside, and it could be minuscule, so small, and yet there’s something that just sits there Like you can’t quit, or you just don’t think, if you do, what will happen? And somehow I want to quit, but I don’t know how to let this go. Like it’s a, it’s like it’s a little hook, like if you’re fishing for just some little fish I’m not talking about deep sea or anything, but when you’re just out fishing for little fish and you have this tiny little hook, it’s like there’s a hook in you and it just pulls you. It pulls you to want to keep going, even when you don’t want to keep going. It’s like a. I don’t even know if I can describe this right. It’s small.

04:48
I wrote down this example. It’s just small. It could be sitting there. It’s just small, but it’s like a piece of lint. This happens to me all the time. There will be this little speck and I’ll go to pick it off and I think I’ve got it. And I looked down, it’s still there and I could pick at that for you know 20, 30 picks until I finally dig in and I’m getting it because it’s still there. And that’s the. That’s sometimes because it’s the will of God deep inside of you.

05:20
You’re not supposed to quit. I mean, you know what I mean. Now I want you to think about specific times and, if you’re there right now, really hone into this. It’s something so small and so worn out, so depleted, but it has roots. It’s like children’s teeth not necessarily adult teeth, children’s teeth and they get that loose tooth and there’s a root like a long, skinny root hanging on, not like our adult roots but those baby teeth. They have these really long, strong, thin roots and I remember a time when I had a tooth that was loose. I could literally like pick it up, twist it around and put it back down and mess with it and it wasn’t coming out. The root would hold it there. And that to me, is like the perfect picture of what I’m trying to describe.

06:22
There’s, you want to quit, you’ve had enough, the season seems unending. You don’t think you can literally go on. You know, just now the Holy Spirit reminded me we are still in the early weeks after the death of Charlie Kirk body that Vice President Vance’s wife, usha, had comforted her because she had said I don’t know how I’m going to go on. Then, like, how do I even do the next few moments? And Usha said to her you know when you’re on a flight and it’s been a long flight and you’ve got the kids with you you know when you’re on a flight and it’s been a long flight and you’ve got the kids with you and it’s the last 15 minutes of the flight and the kids are screaming and they’ve thrown their toys down and everything is all jumbled around you and it’s just difficult and there’s no consoling them and you’re, you’re feeling the anxiety and and the passengers around you are anxious and everything else. And she says but it’s the last 15 minutes and she said you’re going to get through this, you’re going to get through the next 15 minutes and then you’ll get through the next 15 minutes. That is the strength that Erica needed and she said that was exactly what she needed to hear.

08:07
Now her fight has just begun, but yet some of us I know you’ve been in this battle so long you want to quit. You want to say I have prayed and God didn’t answer. You want to say that I’ve tried the God thing and it just isn’t working for me. I remember a very particular time when a family member of mine, many years ago, was going through a devastating time devastating and in her devastation and in her misery and in her honesty, she said I’ve prayed the word. Now she didn’t backslide and she loves the Lord very much, very strong warrior for God and at that time, in her weakness, in her frailty, she said I just can’t do it anymore. It doesn’t work for me. It doesn’t work for me.

09:15
And you may be feeling that you may be feeling like this just doesn’t work for me. You’ve got to stay in the fight. You’ve got to stay in the fight. There is no place that we find in Scripture where we’re told to give up. We battle, yes, but we’re overcomers. We win. So today I’m going to be encouraging you let’s stay in the fight. Let’s stay in the fight, and I’m going to tell you why.

09:44
Because that struggle and I know you might get mad at me for this, you might click off from this but the struggle that you’re in right now, it’s a gift. It’s a gift If you belong to Jesus Christ. That tug to keep going, even though you want to quit that struggle, that you can’t really let it go. You think mentally, emotionally, you think I want to quit, but you can’t, you can’t, you just kind of can’t. That’s a gift. That’s a gift.

10:29
That root that’s holding you down, that is a promise. It’s a promise If you can see it for what it is, if there is something in you that refuses to allow you to quit. You can know that that root is a promise. It’s a promise. It’s a promise from God. It’s a promise of what he has spoken over your life. It’s a promise for tomorrow. The sun will be there tomorrow, whether there’s clouds or not, the sun will be there tomorrow. That was a promise. Whatever God sustains with his hands, it can’t fail. We can trust him. We can trust him. We can’t quit. We can’t quit. Understand that. That root inside of you is a promise.

11:32
What you need right now is not to quit but to understand that the tug that you feel, the pull that you feel, the uneasiness that you feel Okay, this is a good way to explain it when people want to quit and yet they still don’t have peace because you think that if I quit I’ll have peace. But you know you don’t have peace because you can’t quit. That pull, that anchor, that root, is the Holy Spirit speaking hope to you. He’s saying it’s not over. It’s not over. What does Galatians 6, 9 say? And let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season. So there are seasons. In due season, we shall reap if we faint. Not Now, I like that word, shall.

12:32
I actually was a part of a class recently and in this class we were talking about the difference between the different Bibles that you can get, what kind of translations or interpretations that they are, whether they are paraphrases word for word. We were talking about all of that, and a real love for the old King James was, you know, I’ve never not had a love for the King James, but it’s like someone was blowing on the flames and I’ll give you a little tidbit that I learned. You might find this very interesting. I think this is beautiful because every word, every word in your Bible is important. Every word and every word I don’t care if it’s an in, a, the an at, every word is important. Every word is setting a stage, every word is valid. It is coming from the heart of God through men to us to give us wisdom, to give us understanding and insight, and the word shall. This is so awesome in the King James you know the regular King James, I guess versus New King James. I think it might say it different New King James Maybe not versions of the Bible that have come out.

14:02
Not only do they change stuff, delete stuff completely, botch and manipulate texts to something completely different, but they’ll use what seems like a right word instead of shall, and they’ll say will instead of shall. But the word shall is very specific. It’s more than will. Will just connotes or denotes, whichever that is, that something’s going to happen. The word shall is different. The word shall means that it’s a conditionary word. It’s a condition on whether that will or will not take place. There’s an if there. The word shall lets us know there’s an if, there’s a a. What would you call that? A cause and effect. There’s an if-then situation.

15:01
Okay, so this verse says and let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint, not if we don’t give up, if we don’t stop, if we don’t give up, if we don’t stop. You’ll reap if you don’t faint. So let me ask you a question Do you want to reap? Do you want to reap what you have been fighting for? Do you want to reap all of the energy that you have poured into? Whatever it is that you’re pouring into, all that you have given, all of your blood, sweat and tears, all of your resources, all of your energy, your emotions, all of your physical strength, whatever, whatever you have given, and you’re just hanging on? Okay, if you want to reap, don’t quit. Don’t quit, don’t make what you have already invested a waste. Don’t quit, you will reap. You shall reap if you faint, not All right.

16:26
So I’m titling today. I don’t always give a title, but today is Stay in the Fight. So I’m titling today. I don’t always give a title, but today is Stay in the Fight. And I want you to go to 2 Samuel, chapter 23,. And I’m going to read you verse 9 and 10. And I’m reading this to you and I’m going to kind of just break it down. It’ll almost sound like I’m repeating it, but it’ll just make it more clear. Verse 9 says Okay.

17:36
So let me take that and restate that we are talking about one of David’s mighty men, the end of 2 Samuel, in chapter 23. Starting in verse 8, we get kind of the breakdown of all of his mighty men and what they did and why they were mighty. And verse 9 and 10 is about Eleazar. And what we know about these two scriptures is that Eleazar was the son of Dodi, who was in a hoheit I’m probably saying those things completely wrong, so please pardon me and he is the one who stood with David when the Philistines had attacked and Israel retreated.

18:17
Israel retreated, you’ve got David and Eleazar, everybody else has left against an army of Philistines Now I don’t know how many were there, philistines, now, I don’t know how many were there, maybe somewhere else in the passages of scripture that we’ve read, maybe it has talked about that. I didn’t do that back up to tell you. But anyway, an army. They were attacked enough to take whatever territory that they were coming after, right Enough and large enough and scary enough that Israel fled. Okay, how’s that? Big enough army, scary enough army, strong enough army. That Israel, who always fought with David. They were fighters, they retreated, they retreated, they ran away. When do we, when do we read that? Right, we always hear about David taking them in and asking the Lord should I go? And God would say go, and then he would win the battle. But this time they retreated, except for Eleazar. And when the rest of the Israelite army had retreated, eleazar remained on the battlefield and single-handedly now David’s there, but single-handedly fought this army alone.

19:39
One man. You can’t tell me that. There’s not the power of one man I’ll make reference to Charlie Kirk again but one man. Look at all that he has, look at all that he has, not only what he did in 31 years of life, but what he’s now doing after his death. It’s who knows how many giants, so to speak, that his life will eventually conquer. How many giants come down, how many territories are won because of one man’s life. Now, I don’t discredit all those around him who helped him do what he did, but he did it, he did and he fought so hard that his hand literally froze to the hilt of his sword.

20:44
I don’t know if you ever did this when you were kids. It was a thing when I was a kid. I don’t know if it’s a thing for anybody else, but it was a thing for us at my little school, and me and another one of my little girlfriends would take each other’s hands. If you’re watching this on YouTube, you could see what I’m doing. But I’m cupping my fingertips together, but from opposite directions, so that when I pull it’s, it’s I’m pulling. Each hand is pulling against the other hand away. My fingers are not interlocked, they’re just. They’re just bent. So, anyway, we would pull and we would purposely, me and the friend whoever was the opposite hand pulling on mine we would pull one another. For you know, I don’t know, maybe a minute, two minutes. We would just keep pulling until we couldn’t pull anymore and when we would let go, our hands would be frozen in that position and it would take a really long time to slowly and gently try to open and regain the movement in those hands, because they had froze because of the tension for so long being on them.

21:49
Can you imagine this man who is fighting not just for his own life I mean, you have an army against you. You’re fighting for your life, but the reason you’re on that battlefield is because you are fighting for your country. You’re fighting for your country, for your country. You’re fighting for your country Again, a Charlie Kirk, a President, donald Trump, people who go out and, yes, they have to fight to protect themselves, but they’re fighting for a much larger thing than just themselves. And we, as Christians, are supposed to be in the fight for the kingdom, the fight for God’s kingdom that not only does he rule and reign in our life and sometimes the fight we’re in is a fight for our personal lives. But we are supposed to be fighting because the advancement we take is not just about our advancement, it is about the advancement of the kingdom we are supposed to be giving our lives for the kingdom of God. This time we have on earth is short. Eternity is forever and we have limited time and this limited life that we have to get done, all that we can get done.

23:11
And this precious man, eliezer, is fighting for his life, so much so, against an entire army. They didn’t have guns. This wasn’t a shooting match. This is wielding a sword. Think about the exhaustion. I don’t know if you’ve ever done something with your arm long enough that your shoulder and your arm want to fall off. He’s fighting an army. That’s why he was one of David’s mighty men Pretty mighty and he literally fights so long that he can’t even let go of his sword. When the battle’s over, it’s frozen in his hand.

23:58
The text says I love this that the Lord brought about a great victory that day. We just heard that Eleazar’s fighting so long and so hard that the sword is frozen in his hand. It says and the Lord brought about a great victory that day. That’s because Eleazar on his own could not have done that. God gave him the necessary strength and endurance and fought on his behalf with him. That that one man was able to take down an army. That’s pretty miraculous and it’s also pretty humbling. That is pretty humbling.

24:43
It is so important for us to understand that, no matter what we’re called to, no matter what gifts and talents that we have, scripture tells us anything you have is simply because God gave it to you. Any talent that you have, this is seen. In fact, I had a great conversation with my hairstylist today and he had just taught a class the day before. He asked me what I was going to record today and I told him and he’s like my gosh, that’s exactly what I was talking about, and we were comparing notes, so to speak, and he had mentioned this to me, and to me this is so important that we understand the parable of the talents. He gave the example of how a man got up to preach and when this man was preaching, he told the story of himself thinking his wife was quite a successful woman and she was the breadwinner, so to speak, in the house, and so much so that his thought life began to be man. I just, I, just, I’m ready to just quit. He was ready to quit work. He felt like all his needs were met. It was a place of comfortability. He goes. I just want to golf. I’m ready to not be in this fight anymore, I just want to golf. And he heard the Holy Spirit speak to him to go read about the talents. And so he’s reading these talents. And he had the, of course, jesus gives.

26:14
In the parable, the owner of the property gives five talents to the one, two talents to the other and one talent to the last. And when he comes back, the expectation is that you’re going to take that and do something with that. And when I come back, I get to reap the benefits of what I’ve given you because you’re going to multiply those talents. And so the man who was given five made 10, and the man who had two doubled his and made four, but the one who had one only buried that one talent. Well, when the man’s reading this parable, he literally is thinking to himself that’s me, god, you’ve given me all these talents, I’m the guy with five and I’ve got. You know, I multiplied it, I made more of it.

26:53
And then he hears the Holy Spirit say to him no, that’s not you. And he thinks okay, well, I’m, I’m the one you gave to. At least you know, I got two. I didn’t get five, I got two and I made more of what you get. And the Lord said no, that’s not you. You are the one and you’re wanting right now to quit everything that I’ve given you, every gift and talent that I’ve given you, and the strength in your body to do what you do. I’ve given that to you and you’re asking me and wanting, you’re wanting to go bury it so you can go play golf. He said, wow. The conviction of the Holy Spirit really hit him hard, as it should.

27:32
We tend to like to think about that parable in terms of how that’s the most relatable to us in the mindset that we have, in the frame of mind that we’re thinking and we’re always favorable to ourselves. And yet God was using this to say to him you have been given much, yes, and what you have I’ve given you, but you’re wanting to bury what I’ve given you and not use it for me. If that was a that conversation today kind of for me was, I told him I’m going to share the stuff that you gave me because it’s too good, it’s a perspective changer. We want to be comfortable. We don’t like the fight because it’s uncomfortable, it hurts, it costs, but you have to stay in the fight. You have to stay in the fight.

28:28
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29:24
Paul doesn’t call us soldiers for nothing. The only people who need armor if we’re supposed to put on armor and we’re good Christian soldiers the only people who need armor are those who go into battle. There’s no need for armor if you’re not going into a battle. That would be completely unnecessary, but Ephesians 6, 13 through 18,. I’m not going to read you all of that, but the first verse says take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand. In the evil day, when it gets really rough, when things aren’t going the way they’re supposed to go, you should have on the appropriate armor that causes you to be able to withstand.

30:24
To withstand not to give up, not to stop, not to I’ve done it and I’m not doing it anymore. Not to be fed up, not to get an attitude of complacency or even of comfort. Just say I’ve done this long enough. I just don’t want to do it anymore. To take up those words to take. I looked those up. They implicate that it can be left untaken. It’s there.

30:58
The choice is ours, folks. That means that you have to decide, and with purpose. You have to do it. You have to decide I’m going to wear this armor, which means I know there’s a battle. I know this won’t be easy. We have to set our minds. We have to prepare ourselves and take up that armor. Take it where? To the battlefield. To the battlefield Meaning you must decide to fight.

31:34
That decision happens in the mind. That’s the famous the battlefield of the mind. We all know about the battlefield of the mind. You can go back and read Joyce Meyer’s book, the Battlefield of the Mind. We know everything starts in our mind. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. The way you think matters. You have to think about what you’ve been called to, think about what God has entrusted to you and given to you, what he knows about you. He won’t give you something that he will not equip you to do. He doesn’t ever set us up for failure. He sets us up for victory. I know it may not feel like victory right now, but our God is an overcomer, which means there was something to overcome. We are to take courage in the fact that he overcame. He told us, be of good cheer. I have overcome. We should be encouraged by that, knowing that if he overcame, we also can and will overcome. He overcame, we also can and will overcome. Listen, you’ve heard all the nothing good happens after a certain time of night, right? Nothing good happens when. Nothing good happens when and as I was thinking about this, I was actually thinking about King David, and we’re gonna go there in just a second but nothing good happens when you quit. Nothing good happens when you quit. When you quit, nothing good happens when you quit. Nothing good happens when you decide to not stay in the fight. Nothing, nothing.

33:03
Now I’m not talking about frivolous things like you decided to read this particular book and you quit reading the book I’m not talking about. I’m talking about your life. I’m talking about the things God has called you to. I’m talking about the things that are the virtuous things of life, the weighty matters, the spiritual things that God has called us to, the purpose that he’s called you to. What if he’s called you to start a business? You to what if he’s called you to start a business? And it is tough, it’s costly, but you know God calls you to it. Don’t quit. Don’t quit. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be failures along the way. It doesn’t mean that you will do everything perfect. Those are all wonderful learning experiences. Those are things that we can use, that are valuable to us, those, paul said I have fought the good fight. I fought the good fight.

34:06
Christianity is not for the weak, it’s a fight. It’s a fight If you, if you think that becoming a Christian means that your life now is going to be, you know, a bed of roses. You’re mistaken. You are gravely mistaken. It means you will have strength available to you that you never had before. You’ll have insight that you never had before, discernment and wisdom to make wise decisions. You’ll have the power of heaven on your side when you learn to listen, hear and obey what God is saying for your life, to help you to navigate the rough waters of life, the enemies and the things that will come at you. But it certainly does not mean that life is easy. It’s not. That’s not what it means. I have fought the good fight. It’s a good fight. It’s worthy, it’s it’s worth doing. It’s good. It’s good and it’s good for us to fight.

35:01
If you’re at all someone who listens to any of the popular pop psychology things going on right now and if you’re familiar with Jordan Peterson, he has done significant lectures on the importance of, especially for a man, for a male, that he has to be fighting, he has to be conquering, he has to be somebody who is constantly vigilant and going after and protecting and providing and fighting. That’s good for him, that without that he falls apart. He literally falls apart and God has put that in man. He’s put that in him and we have to understand that it’s a good fight. It’s a fight against sin. It’s a fight against the devil and darkness. It’s a war against our flesh, our carnality. Nothing good happens if you stop and you quit. Nothing good happens if you quit. Stay in the fight.

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All right, I want you to go to 2 Samuel, chapter 11. Chapter 11. Now I’m going to read you a decent portion of scripture here and I will try to just read it quickly. This is the story of David and this is the Bathsheba story, but I think this is really important. I might skip through some of it, but what’s really important is this the first couple verses here and then some verses I’m going to read at the end of this.

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But it says this it happened in the spring of the year. Sorry, it happened in the spring of the year at the time. This is important. There are times and seasons. It happened in the spring of the year at the time. So these are designated times. This was a specific designated time. These are designated times. This was a specific designated time when kings go out to battle. So this is a known thing. It was probably because it’s the best time to fight, weather-related, wise, but it was in the spring and it was time. This is when the kings do this.

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The kings go out to battle. A real king was a warrior. He never sat back and just sent his army. Real kings actually went into the battle. We know that Ahab was killed because he was in the battle and he was shot. So you have different kings going into different battles. There’s I think it’s Ahab, there were several different ones that they go in. The kings go into battle. The whole thing was, and they would sometimes dress them, put the kingly garments on somebody else so that people would chase after her, the one who was not the king, versus keeping the king safe. But he’d go out to battle.

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Let me read that again. It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him. So he sent Joab and he sent his servants with Joab and all Israel, all the warriors, and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah, but David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing in. The woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman and someone said is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? You’ll later read that Uriah was one of the mighty men. That’s just a sad. That’s just a sad thing.

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When David then David sent messengers and took her and she came to him and he lay with her and she was cleansed from her impurity and she returned to her house and the woman conceived her impurity and she returned to her house and the woman conceived. So she sent and told David and said I am with child. You know, okay, this is just a sidebar, this is extra. I’m giving this to you for free. I just what an amazing thing. In scripture it doesn’t even say I’m pregnant. It says I am with child At conception. I am with child, and so this debate on whether a child is a child until they’re born is hogwash, it’s absurdity. You can read it in scripture. They said I am with child because they knew there was a child in there. There’s an actual child growing in there. Okay, sidebar over back to the text.

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Then David sent to Joab saying send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David when Uriah had come to him. David asked Joab how? I’m sorry. David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was prospering. So David is not um, he’s trying to make it like everything’s normal. I’m sending, send him like he’d send a servant to him and tell me how the war is going. Tell me how the people are doing. Tell me what’s the morale like. How’s everyone doing? Tell me how the people are doing. Tell me what’s the morale like, how’s everyone doing?

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And David said to Uriah go down to your house and wash your feet. So Uriah departed from the king’s house and, as a gift and a gift of food from the king, followed him. So David is trying to cover up his sin of sleeping with and impregnating Bathsheba. And he sends him home, says go home, wash up. Here’s a food basket for you and your wife. He’s trying to get him to go home and sleep with her so that when it becomes evident that she’s expecting, uriah will think it’s his child.

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But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all of the servants of his Lord and did not go down to his house. So when they told David, saying Uriah did not go down to his house, david said to Uriah did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house? And Uriah said to David the ark of Israel. I’m going to want you to think about the character of this man. The ark of Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents. He means out on the battlefield and my Lord, joab, and the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink and to lie with my wife as you live and as your soul lives? I will not do this thing. Then David said to Uriah wait here today. Also in tomorrow, I will let you depart.

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So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. Now, when David called him, he ate and drank before him. So he kept bringing him in. He’s feeding him and he’s giving him um, most likely wine, and he’s hoping he gets drunk so that he goes home and sleeps with his wife. And it says and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of the Lord, but he did not go down to his house. So it wasn’t working.

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In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. So David realizes his plan has failed and he wrote in the letter saying set Uriah in front of the hottest battle and retreat from him that he may be struck down and die. So it was while Joab besieged the city that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab and some of the people of the servants of David fell and Uriah the Hittite died also. So David had him killed.

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Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war and he charged the messenger saying when you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king, if it happens that the king, that his wrath rises and he says to you why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? So Joab’s worried that he’s going to look like he wasn’t commanding the army in a wise way. And he’s not. He doesn’t know the whole story yet. He doesn’t know why David wants Uriah killed. He says so who’s from the wall? Who struck Abimelech, the son of Jerubasheth? Was it not a woman who cast a piece of millstone on him from the wall so that he died in Thebes. Why did you go near the wall? Then you shall say that your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. So he’s saying if he asks these questions, you can just let him know.

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This was my tactic to make sure that Uriah died. So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent by him. And the messenger said to David surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field. Then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate. The archer shot from the wall at your servants, as some of the king’s servants are dead, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. Then David said to the messenger thus, shall you say to Joab do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it. So encourage him.

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When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah, her husband, was dead, she mourned for her husband, and when her mourning was over, david sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. You think this is really. This is really something. So I’m not going to read to you all of chapter 12. That is when Nathan the prophet comes and says to David you have done wrong and God is getting ready to bring punishment to you, against your house, and it will be perpetual. The sword will always be against you, it’ll come from your own house, and so you should go back and read that. But I want us to jump in chapter 12 to verses 26 to 30. This is very important 26 to 30.

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Now, joab fought against Rabbah, so he’s still fighting this battle at Rabbah. Fought against Rabbah, so he’s still fighting this battle at Rabbah. And a lot of time has happened here. So Bathsheba is with child, she gives birth, the child dies and they’re still in a battle. So this is probably a year long battle. I’m not sure, but probably at least a year Now.

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Joab fought against Rabbah of the people of Ammon and took the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to David and said I have fought against Rabbah and I have taken the city’s water supply. Now this is really important. Now, therefore, gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it. He’s telling David get out here, get whoever is missing. But you better come and you take this city, lest I take the city and it be called after my name. So he’s rebuking David. You’re supposed to be out here on the battlefield. Why aren’t you here? If you don’t hurry up and get here, I’m going to get the glory for this and this city is going to be named after me, joab, not King David, and not for Israel. So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it and took it. So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it and took it.

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Okay, my point in reading that to you is to show you nothing good happens when you quit. David was supposed to be on that battlefield. If he had been on that battlefield, uriah, one of his mighty men, would not have died. Bathsheba would not have been taken the way she was taken. Her child and David’s son would not have died.

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Now, god is a redeemer. Praise God that he’s a redeemer. Praise God that he’s a redeemer and he has pity and he forgives David. He’s merciful. And so Bathsheba has another child who ends up being Solomon, who is King Solomon the wisest, and I mean. That’s a beautiful redemption that only God can do, but none of this should have happened. None of this should have happened. None of this should have happened. I mean in God’s rebuke to David. Maybe I should read that to you.

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In God’s rebuke to David, he says in chapter 12, verse 8, it says I gave you. This is God speaking through Nathan to David I gave you your master’s house, meaning King Saul and your master’s wives, into your keeping and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I mean God’s literally saying and if what I gave you wasn’t enough, I also would have given you much more. It’s like everything you have, I gave you. And if you actually needed more, wanted more, I would have given it to you. Why would you go do this detestable thing? Why would you do this? He quit. He did all of that because nothing good happens when you quit.

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Don’t leave the fight, do not disengage. Stay in the fight. It will keep you. I know it’s hard, I know you’re tired, I know you are. So we’ve dropped to our knees and we pray and we say Lord, I need your strength and like the little story I told you I hate calling it a little story, that’s bad, bad choice of words when when Erica Kirk shared the encouragement that she received. You’ll make it this 15 minutes and you’ll make it the next 15 minutes. I want to encourage you today. You’ll make it. Stay in the fight. If all you can do is take the next 15 minutes, you can survive the next 15 minutes, but then after that, let’s look at the next 15 minutes. You’ve heard it a million times Take it one day at a time. However, you have to deduce. That in your mind is fine, but you need to understand that there’s a bigger picture. It’s not just about I’m just going to take it as it comes, one day at a time. No, it’s understanding. I am engaged in a battle and I am not quitting. I am not putting my sword down. I am not going to quit.

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If you need strength for today, the first thing that you need to do is to choose to fight, choose to take up your armor Now. If you need to go and read those scriptures again, go and read what all the armor is and how you need to prepare. You need a helmet of salvation. You need a breastplate of righteousness. You need a belt of truth. You need your feet shod with the preparation of peace. You need the sword of the spirit. You need to pray always. You need to be praying always, always, with all kinds of prayers. You need to pray.

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We need the armor of the Lord, we need his covering. You gain that by entering into his presence. You need God to manifest to you. You need his word to manifest to you. You need his answers, you need his strength, you need his encouragement. Any manifestation that you need from the Lord in your life comes from your place of submission and humility before him in prayer. You get in his presence and you will understand his manifestation, you will feel him, you will know him, you will receive from him. You can’t get something from him without being in his presence. You need the presence of the Lord. So pray, pray.

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It’s not the kind of fight or battle where you’re just white knuckling it. I know I mean I’ve given you the example of a hand being frozen to a sword, but it’s not a white knuckle experience. It’s I will be victorious. That’s different. That’s different than I’m hanging on for near life and I can’t do this. That’s not the same thing. You’ll die with that kind of attitude if you have the understanding that, god, I am fighting and I will not quit, I will not stop. You will help me, you will equip me, you will satisfy me, you will protect me, you will do what I need done because I’m doing this, because you’re calling me to it. You will for me to do this, so I will not be able to. Um, I will reap if I faint not. We have to understand the proper mindset. But, folks, nothing good happens when you quit. Nothing good happens when you quit.

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Let’s look at Galatians 6-9 again and let us not be weary in well-doing. Make sure your frame of mind is that, even if you’re weary, that you don’t attribute your weariness to doing good and what’s good, the good fight of faith, your weariness can be real. You can be physically tired, you can be emotionally tired, you can be physically tired, you can be emotionally tired, but what we don’t want happening is that, spiritually, we quit going to the source. You have to go to the source. Let us not be weary in well-doing, in doing good, the fight that you’ve been called to. It’s good. Don’t attribute your weariness to the fight per se.

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Attribute your weariness to I need more of God to continue in this fight. I need more of Him, that’s more of an understanding of taking up armor. Then if somehow I’m getting hit here, I need armor there so that I am not pierced by that Right, I need to quench the fiery darts of the enemy. So our mindset has to be that we shift our thinking on why we’re weary. I am weary because I need more of God. I am weary because my flesh is strong. What does the scripture tell us? It’s the spirit is willing, it’s the flesh that’s weak. So I need to. If that means I need to rest, then I physically need to rest. Of course, if I need to eat, I physically need to eat. That’s okay. We do those things, we care for ourselves in those ways, but we don’t quit. We don’t quit, we don’t get weary in doing good, because we will reap if we faint not. We put on the whole armor of God. I will end with this Go to 1 Thessalonians 5.

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1 Thessalonians 5. And this is verses 16 to 18. Rejoice always. Now, this is part of having what we call an attitude of gratitude, being someone who gives thanks in all things. Scripture teaches us to do that, to give thanks in all things.

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Why, when you position yourself, when you have made sure that your mindset and your position is one from a vantage point of what you’re grateful for. What is happening to you becomes second, what you’re enduring becomes second. You don’t want that to be first. What should be first is gratitude that we should never get over how good God has been to us, if only in salvation, which should be enough. Which should be enough. I’m not saying we don’t ask for more, but that alone he is worthy because of his sacrifice for me to offer my life as a living sacrifice period simply for my salvation. But if I’m grateful and I begin listing everything I’m grateful for that I know that God has been the one who provided and did that for me Then the thing that I battle is second, it’s second. It also helps me to remember when I am grateful for all the things I should be grateful for. That mindset helps me to remember how big God is, how faithful God is, how good God is, how trustworthy he is. So when I’m in the battle, I know God is with me. He has called me to this, so he fights for me in this.

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What did we read? That, even though the sword of Eliezer was frozen in his hand, the Lord said by his word in scripture in his hand. The Lord said by his word in scripture that it was the Lord who brought about a great victory. Having this right mindset, we shouldn’t attribute to ourselves all the goodness that happens to our life. All of that. Even if you work really hard to do something really hard and accomplish something, you realize you couldn’t do that without God first giving you the talents and abilities to do that in the first place. Let alone, maybe, what connections he made for you, what doors he opened for you, what favor he bestowed on you that you couldn’t have done on your own. The only other option is just arrogant pride, to think that God had nothing to do with it and that you somehow are greater and that you did it on your own. We can do nothing. The scripture says you can do nothing apart from him. Apart from him, we can do nothing.

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Start with gratitude, be thankful, position your thought life in the right way, in the right order. You order it. Be grateful, and by doing so you immediately put down the thing you’re fighting against into a much smaller category. God is bigger, god is greater. God has always been good to me. God will always provide for me. God has always been good to me. God will always provide for me. God has always done what was best for my life, even in things that I don’t understand.

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Many times we go through things and at the time we don’t understand them. You get some time in between that and you look back and you realize I know why God did that. I know why he did that. It was necessary. It was necessary. David said it was good that I was afflicted. It was good because it corrects us, it shapes us, it molds us, it sanctifies us.

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Okay, second, you must stand on the word. You have to stand on the word. Stand on the word. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing I mentioned this just a moment ago. Pray without ceasing. Pray all the time. Pray even if it’s short little prayers. Pray and don’t.

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You can go ahead and pray your requests, but when you pray, my challenge to you is to pray about how good God has been by thanking him. Remind yourself in your prayers. God, I just thank you. Look what you did. You opened that door today. Or I was tired and I made it through and you helped me get through that meeting and that conversation. You just you helped me to know what to say, or it went the way that I needed it to go, or or my relationship with my kids. That um you, you. You gave us this beautiful moment today and you know whatever, whatever it is, pray without ceasing, but I challenge you to pray from a thankful heart.

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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing In everything, give thanks In everything. Give thanks, for this is, this is the will of God in Christ. Jesus for you. You want to know what God’s will is for your life. Jesus for you. You want to know what God’s will is for your life. That’s his will. He wants you to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks. If you do those things, you will be in the right place at the right time, with the right people for the right purpose and accomplish all the right results. That is the will of God for your life.

01:00:21
Stay in the fight. Stay in the fight. Nothing good happens when we quit. I hope that becomes your mantra. I hope that you know. Write it on some sticky notes, put it in places that you need to see it. Don’t quit, don’t quit. Nothing good happens when we quit. Stay in the fight. Let me pray for you, father. I just thank you for your word. I thank you for the encouragement of your word. I thank you for the examples of those who went before us to show us how to live this out.

01:00:56
God, I pray for each person under the sound of my voice today who is in a battle. Father, give them the strength to not lay down their sword. That they accomplish much, that they can say I stayed in the battle. I don’t want to be Lord, and I know that the ones listening today, they don’t want to be like those who ran off and the only time they came back was to come and take the plunder, those who wanted to get something for nothing, to take advantage of someone else’s win. God, we want to be those who are victorious, who are overcomers, just like Jesus. Give us encouragement today in our soul, give us strength, give us battle plans, give us initiatives, give us purpose, give us the people we need, the resources we need, god, and we will be so careful to give you all the glory. And we will be so careful to give you all the glory because we know we could have not done this without you. Thank you for your people today. Bless your people today. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

01:02:13
Well, thank you for taking time to dig into the Word today, journal some notes, write down some thoughts. Let this be an encouragement to you. You never know when you’re going to need it right. And if you know anybody else who needs encouragement today, I would encourage you to share this broadcast with them. Maybe give us a like and help us with our algorithms. Subscribe if you want more content like this. Algorithms Subscribe if you want more content like this. If you have prayer requests or praise reports, I’d love to hear them. You can email me at mail at jaimelucecom. That’s J-A-I-M-E-L-U-C-E. You could also go to my website and have everything there, jaimelucecom. It was my pleasure to spend this time with you today. We’ll see you next time. Bye-bye.