1 & 2 Thessaloniansናሙና

Sir Winston Churchill served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during two different time periods. He served first from 1940 until 1945, and then again from 1950 until 1951. In 1941, he returned to his alma mater, Harrow College. He had been invited to give a speech to a group of students who were attending the same school he had attended. 

I had the chance to do this. I was asked to come back and speak at a few different schools that I’ve attended. Each time you go back, it kind of gives you a sense of nostalgia and you have butterflies in your stomach. You find yourself walking around feeling a lot of different emotions and remembering what it was like to be there. For me, there is a sense of excitement when I return and a lot of good memories.

It was different for Churchill because he hated the school and his time there was difficult. There was also the fact that he almost got kicked out of Harrow College. So coming back created a lot of feelings for Winston Churchill. Then there was also the reality of what was going on in the world at the time, with World War II in full swing. Churchill felt the responsibility that comes with being Prime Minister. It would have been so easy for him to have let all the emotions he was feeling during that return visit impact him that day. He could easily have allowed his past and the weight of the current world situation to compromise the message he had prepared. But on that day, Winston Churchill was resolved to do his best, he was confident in his message, and he delivered his famous “Never Give In” speech. The words to that speech reached a fever pitch when he told them, “Never give in. Never, never, never, never. In nothing great or small, in nothing large or petty, never give in,” he said, “except to convictions of honor and good sense.”

Paul understood the pressure of responsibility and he knew what it was to leave the past behind and move forward. Paul had experienced the call of Jesus Christ and understood the need for the word of God to be delivered to the unbelieving world. He had the resolve to share with those who desperately needed to know Jesus and he was confident in the message God had given him to share. No matter what happened, Paul never gave up.  

Giving up is easy! When things get tough, the natural response is to quit. It is the path of least resistance. It is a smooth, simple, downhill slope. It is also deadly! We will never know the things that could have been done in our world if people had refused to give up. We can’t calculate the glorious impact on our lives and the lives of others if we would have pressed on when things got tough. We must resolve to follow the calling God has given to share the gospel with a dying world. We must never give up!

Respond

Describe a time when you could have easily given up, but didn’t? What was the outcome?

List names of people you know who are struggling and considering giving up in life. Write a one or two sentence prayer for each one. 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, allow me to encourage someone who is contemplating giving up and to share Your gift of salvation with them.