Don’t Give Up!

A lot of people want to know how I ended up in my medical specialty of pediatric emergency medicine.

Easy. When I was in medical school I boiled down my choices to pediatrics vs. surgery. Then I realized something about surgeons. If you are in the middle of a procedure and something goes wrong, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve already been at it, it doesn’t matter what else you’ve got on your personal agenda, you’re pretty much stuck in the room until you finish the job. No questions asked. No short cuts allowed. No giving up whatsoever. Ever.

And I knew something about myself that is still true today. I often lack that kind of perseverance.

In other words, if the situation looks hopeless, I’m out. I won’t even try something that looks beyond my reach. Like climbing the Himalayans, or running a marathon. No thank you. Not for me. My mind doesn’t even want to go there.

I’ve noticed that I tend to display the same attitude in my prayer life.

Does the situation look hopeless? Have I waited forever and not seen any earthly movement towards a resolution?

Forget about it. I’m out.

It’s a terrible trait to have. It also impacts the way I think about God. Can God in fact get the job done? Or worse yet, if he can, why hasn’t he? Does he not care about me? And how come other Christians seem to have regular positive activity in their prayer lives while mine just sputters away? Does God prefer them to me?

And down I sink in a mire of self-pity and spiritual victimization that is sinful and evil.

What should you do when you find yourself developing a sinful pattern of thinking about God?

1. Repent. Confess your sin and change your mind about who God is. Admit to God that you are wrong about who He is. God is a loving God who is always in control. His delays are not a sign of absence or apathy. His delays are meant for my good. Romans 8:28 says that “all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”

2. Remember. Sit down and write down who God really is. Open his word and meditate on the truth of his character. Romans 8:32 says that “God did not spare his own son but have him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”. God is a good God. He is in control of your life. Even when you don’t see the answer.

3. Renew. Each moment is a new gift from God. In Proverbs 24:16 it says that “the righteous falls seven times and rises again”. Get up again and renew your mind in thinking right. Don’t sit back and sulk because of past failures. Put past failures behind and keep your eyes on Christ.

4. Resolve. Make a decision to persevere in prayer. Understand that you are more than a conqueror through him who loves you, and that nothing can separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:37-39). Resolve to pray the matter through to the end. Even if it means climbing the highest peak of the highest mountain. Get fit, get equipped, and get going.

God is at work in the darkest hour. Don’t give up too soon.

He loves you.

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