What To Do When You Want To QuitSample

Through the story of Elijah, we see more than just the moment that he wanted to quit.

We see three steps that will help us make it through when we want to quit:

1. Take care of yourself. Immediately after Elijah tells God that he wants to die, God tells him to do something. He doesn’t tell him to pray, or even to read the Bible. He told him to get up and eat. We dare not dismiss the importance of taking care of ourselves when things get so bad that we want to quit. That includes things like eating right, exercising and resting. We can’t control our circumstances, but we can control whether we let ourselves go or take care of our body. Taking care of yourself puts you into a position to take one step forward at a time.

2. Get in front of God. It’s interesting that in the process of wanting to quit, the Lord keeps asking him the same question: “What are you doing here?” The single most important thing we can do when we want to quit is get in front of God. It’s often the exact opposite thing that our instincts tell us to do. Elijah ran. We avoid church, distract ourselves with mindless activities, and try to numb the pain through various methods.

We avoid the one thing that is most helpful.

3. Go back. Often the desire to quit leads us sideways. When we run away as we want to quit, we step off the path God has for us. When we want to quit, the best thing we can do is go back and remember what God has given us responsibility over. We can’t control the outcomes. Those are up to God. BUT, we can control our inputs and whether we are being faithful to what God has said in the first place.

Wanting to quit isn’t something we snap out of. It’s something we journey through. As we take care of ourselves, get in front of God, and get back to doing what God has made us responsible for, then we move forward one step at a time.

And eventually, we get to the other side.

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