Has life punched you in the face so much that you’re ready to give up?

There’s this huge temptation that will permeate your space where you (and others) will convince you that you’re finished. That somehow life is too difficult and will fuel this overwhelming feeling to quit before you’re done.

So many of us confuse quitting with failing.

Though my own battles I can assure you that everything God wants to start inside of you He wants to finish through you. The question is, how much inside of you is not finished yet? Some of us have our deepest regrets because there’s so much unfinished stuff inside of us.

Life continues to erode at our will to continue to move forward and somewhere along the way we lose our resolve, our determination, our courage, our faith and convince ourselves that we’ve lost our opportunity…and we quit. We often step into the narrative that if God wanted it to happen, it would happen, right? How many of us think this way to protect ourselves?

Let’s step into the story of Caleb, around Joshua chapter 14 where we find him refusing to quit when everyone else was done. Joshua and his leaders have stepped into the promised land and have seen battle after battle and conquest after conquest. We pick up in the story line where Joshua is at the end of this era and begins to divide the land up.

Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. —Joshua 14:6,7

Many of us want to camp out on the facts alone, but we forget that the facts are always wrapped up in us. Ever wonder how two different people come back with the same facts and walk two different paths?

…but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.” —Joshua 14:8.9

Caleb is reminding Joshua of when Moses sent them out together to spy on the land and they were the only two that came back with a good report. All the others didn’t want to go there because they were afraid of what they saw and convinced themselves that there was no future there.

“Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.) Then the land had rest from war. —Joshua 14:10-15

There’s something here that I don’t want you to miss, “…then Joshua blessed Caleb!” Not sure you caught this, but Joshua blessed Caleb by giving him territory that was still at war. That seems a bit crazy, doesn’t it? Joshua blessed Caleb by giving him another battle that he could step into. So often we think that when God blesses us, He gives us peace and makes things easy for us. So, what have you resolved to? A land of peace where battles don’t exist or a space in turmoil where you can bring the peace?

Caleb shouts out with volume and vigor, “I’M NOT FINISHED YET!” — and neither are you! I’ve had to battle through being born with a broken leg, growing up daily being bullied, sexual abuse, divorce, and a bout of skin cancer, etc. And I have resolved myself to a place where I’m still standing because I’m not finished with facing life’s obstacles!

Before you think about giving up; remember that God left Abraham with his knife raised…ready to plunge into Isaac’s heart (and Isaac waiting for the knife to strike…yikes!); He left Joseph suffering for years in an Egyptian prison; he allowed the Israelites to suffer 400 years of bondage under the Egyptians and leaves those same Israelites backed against the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s chariots bearing down on them. He abandoned Jesus at the cross and does not rescue Him at all. And then there are those of us who are groaning under the weight of life and things that have gone very wrong, waiting for that same Jesus to return and sweep us up with Him in power and glory. We often shout out in our weariness, places of desperation and pain, “How long, O Lord? What the heck!” — forgetting the epic ending to these stories.

So many of us forfeit our future by camping out in the bitterness of circumstances, which just fuels the demand to live in the past. I know life’s tough, but here’s some wisdom I learned along the way; God wants to do something in you and through you. And you must believe that your resolve, your perseverance, your pain, your sacrifice and your wounds are the very materials that God is using to accomplish this. Remember that there’s a contribution that God wants to make through your life, so when you get knocked down, get back up.

If you haven’t figure this out yet, God often calls us to battles where the deck is completely stacked against us, just to add drama to the story. And there is this clear picture, even from God Himself, that He does this to demonstrate His own glory. You need to decide in your own heart that you’re not finished yet and you will continue to run the race! No matter what life throws your way, lean into God, face the battle and never give up!

Pick up a copy of my book, Heartstone: A Journey out of the midnight of my soul.Heartstone is a journey of destiny, a story of a life turned upside-down for the best possible reason. Step into the story and discover what happens when a broken life has a head on collision with a broken world! [WARNING] This book isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for those who have the courage to face life head on and walk it out with God!