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"WHY DON'T YOU JUST QUIT?" "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (Gal. 6:9) I don't make it habit of talking to the devil, but he talks to me a great deal, and one of his most frequent words is "QUIT." I would be a liar, if I said that I haven't thought about it. It must be nice to get through a week without anyone lying about you or misrepresenting you. It must be nice to be largely ignored by the brethren as you go about living your own life and doing only the things that you enjoy. I wouldn't know, and neither would anyone else who is doing anything significant for God. The ministry is tough, and the devil is a fighter who uses not only lost people to oppose us, but also believers who often do the devil's work without having a clue that they're doing it. The brethren will kill you, if you let them, and if they don't kill you, they'll make you want to kill yourself or just quit. Well, there are some good reasons to hang in there and press on for the Lord. I'll try to be brief in pointing out some things that I remind myself of frequently . . . First, God is still with you. If you are doing his work, He has never left you and will not leave you (Heb. 13:5). Keep at it and keep your eyes on the Lord. They tried to get Nehemiah to quit, but he just kept on for God and said, "I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" (Neh. 6:3) He could have reasoned that coming down and meeting some of their demands would show grace and tolerance and maybe win them over, but he knew the nature of the enemy. So, he just stayed focused on God and kept working away for the Lord. God is still with you, so keep your eyes on Him and plow your own row. It doesn't matter that others don't plow with you or don't appreciate or understand you. It matters that you plow your own row as unto the Lord (Luke 9:62; Col. 3:23). You can't do that, if you're in someone else's field, and you can't do it, if you quit. Second, you can still help people. No matter what you've been through or are going through, there is somebody that you can help as long as you don't quit. Every week someone lies about me, mocks me, or misrepresents me in some way. I recall listening to a YouTube video of a certain evangelist about a year ago, and the man brought up my own name and completely misrepresented me for a cheap laugh from the congregation! You would be shocked, if I gave the name. Thanks to this ill-informed brother, thousands of people now believe fallacies about me. BUT, I can't dwell on that. Every week I also receive kind letters and messages from people that I have helped or who are needing help. If I quit because of the blabbermouth evangelist, then all those hungry souls lose out. That cannot happen. I must focus and fight on. Thirdly, I remind myself often that Jesus was opposed also, so I'm in good company. They lied about Him, they persecuted Him, His own followers misunderstood Him, most of them forsook Him at the end, one denied Him, and Judas betrayed Him, yet He remained focused and completed the work that He was sent to do. If any man ever had a reason to quit, Jesus sure had one. But He endured hardness and finished His work. You and I wear His name and we must do the same. Finally, I remember that quitting only benefits the devil. It doesn't benefit the Lord, because He loses a soldier. It doesn't benefit me, because, although I make my life easier, I lose my honor and my rewards, if I quit. It doesn't benefit others, because I am no longer fighting and helping them. It only benefits the devil, if I throw in the towel. So I must pray, refresh myself, refocus, and then press onward. Quitting is not an option. As the song says, "I wouldn't take nuthin' for my journey now." Many years ago on the voyage and shipwreck of Acts 27 being a type of the church age. As they drew near the shore the waters became shallow and things got pretty crazy, BUT THEY ALL MADE IT TO SHORE. You CAN make it, so don't quit. The waters of Laodicea are shallow and treacherous, but you CAN survive. Stay in a good church, stay close to God through prayer and the word, and stay busy plowing your own row.