“Should I Give Up?”

There are seasons when life becomes so heavy that even the strongest heart begins to tremble. You pray, you plan, you work, and still it feels like you’re pushing against a closed door. In moments like that, a painful question rises quietly inside: “Should I give up?”

If you’ve felt this recently, Scripture reminds us that you’re not the first to reach that point. David, a man after God’s heart, once said, “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” He didn’t pretend to be fine. He brought his tiredness to God. That honesty is a reminder that God isn’t offended by your weakness. He sees it, and He draws near.

Paul also faced seasons that pushed him beyond his limits. In one letter he wrote that he was under so much pressure that he “despaired even of life.” But he discovered something important: his breaking point wasn’t God’s breaking point. When Paul ran out of strength, God didn’t. That is still true today. Your limits don’t intimidate God. If anything, they give Him room to show His power.

Throughout Scripture, God has a habit of arriving late to human clocks but right on time for His plan. Abraham waited years for a promise. Joseph spent a long stretch in prison. Hannah endured mockery before her joy came. The church prayed for Peter while he slept chained between soldiers, yet God sent an angel to walk him out of the prison in the middle of the night. So if your situation feels dark or quiet, don’t assume God has stopped working. He often does His deepest work in silence.

One of the most comforting pictures in the Bible is Elijah under a broom tree in the wilderness, asking God to end his life. He was exhausted and empty. God didn’t scold him. Instead, He fed him, strengthened him, and spoke to him in a gentle whisper. That’s how God handles His children when they’re at the end of themselves. He doesn’t argue with your pain. He meets you in it.

So when the thought “Should I give up?” passes through your heart, remember this: the work God started in you is not yours to abandon. He began it, He sustains it, and He will finish it. Your job is to stay connected to Him even when you feel weak.

If you’re in a season of discouragement, take a few quiet steps:

Pause and breathe. Rest is not quitting.
Talk to God honestly, not with polished words but with the sincerity of someone who needs help.
Go back to what God has said in His word. His promises hold you when nothing else does.
Lean on the brethren. Even Moses needed people to hold his hands up.
Recall the victories God has already given you. They remind you He hasn’t changed.

Galatians 6:9 carries a gentle but firm encouragement: “Do not be weary in well doing, for in due season you shall reap if you faint not.” The harvest is on the way. Weariness is natural, but fainting is what the enemy wants. The very moment you feel like giving up may be the moment just before the breakthrough God has prepared.

So should you give up? No. Not because you’re strong, but because God is faithful. The same God who sustained David, Paul, Elijah, and countless others is the same God holding you today. When the weight feels too much, simply whisper, “Lord, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” And trust that He will lift you again.

THE CALL: If you’ve reached a point where life feels overwhelming and you’re wondering whether to keep going, the deepest answer is found in Christ. He is the One who gives rest, heals the wounded heart, and offers a new beginning that the world cannot give.

But this hope isn’t automatic. God lovingly calls every person to respond to Him in the way Scripture teaches. The gospel isn’t just comfort in hard times; it is an invitation to enter a relationship that anchors your soul.

The New Testament shows a clear pattern for coming to Christ:

You hear the message of the gospel, because faith comes by hearing the word of God.
You believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the only Savior.
You repent, turning away from a life directed by self and sin to a life directed by God.
You confess Jesus before others, just as the Ethiopian eunuch did.
And you are baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins, where God washes you clean and adds you to His church.
Then you continue to walk faithfully, growing daily in grace and knowledge.

This is not a man-made process. It is God’s way of bringing a person from darkness into light, from despair into hope, from “Should I give up?” to “Lord, take my life and lead me.”

So if your heart is tired, if your strength is failing, or if you’ve been searching for meaning, Christ is calling you. He offers a peace that doesn’t collapse under life’s pressure and a hope that will carry you far beyond this world.