Never, ever give up.

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing;give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

So what do you do when you've screwed up?  You know it.  God knows it.  Your spouse knows it.  In your shame and grief, you feel like everyone is judging you.  If your daughter is quiet, you think she is not talking to you because of your guilt.  If you go to church, you feel like you can't participate in theological discussions or public prayers because of your sin.

In these cases, I think it is important to remember the words of that great theologian, Winston Churchill:  "Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.  Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

This week I read 2 Samuel chapter 24.  You should stop what you are doing and read it now.  Go on, we'll wait.  To recap, King David decided to take a census of all the men of fighting age within the kingdom of Israel.  Joab, the commander of his armies, thought it was a bad idea.  So did the other military leaders.  Nevertheless, David commanded that it should be done, and it was.  Then God convicted him of his sin.

"David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, 'I have sinned greatly in what I have done.  Now, O Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant.  I have done a very foolish thing."  (2 Samuel 24:10).  A prophet was sent to give David a choice: God could send three years of famine, or three months of fleeing from his enemies, or three days of plague.  David, trying to be a wise ruler, did not want to subject the people to too long a punishment.  So God sent a plague all across Israel, and 70,000 people died.

The angel of death sent by God was stopped by God before he reached Jerusalem, because David prayed, "I am the one who has sinned and done wrong.  These are but sheep.  What have they done?  Let your hand fall upon me and my family." (2 Samuel 24:17).  God instructed David to go to a certain place and offer a sacrifice.  David complied, and offered to buy the land and the altar from the man who owned it.  The man demurred, saying that as King, David could take whatever he wanted for whatever use he wanted to do with it.  David's response was, "I will not offer to the Lord that which cost me nothing."

Lessons from this passage that speak to my heart:

It is a sin to trust in our own power, instead of trusting in God.  David wanted to take stock of his fighting men so he could know his strength as a warrior king.  God had already promised Moses, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."  Almost any sin that we can think of can be traced back to a lack of trust in God. When Jesus said, "Pray this way...give us this day our daily bread," He was not talking just about food; our God is able to meet all your needs according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus.

Your sin affects other people.  David knew that famine, war, and plague would all take a toll on the people he loved.  I don't think he realized the extent to which the consequences would affect the nation.  Losing 70,000 countrymen in just 3 days had to be overwhelming.  In the same way, we don't think about how badly our friends and family might be hurt from our own personal sins.  Even when we take full responsibility for our failures, people still will get hurt.

Do not give up on God or on godliness.  When David prayed, he spared the lives of countless Israelites living in Jerusalem.  Who knows whether his praying sooner might have stopped the deaths of some of the 70,000 who lost their lives in the plague?  What we do know is that we should not shy away from our faith.  Pray.  Fast.  Repent.  Seek God's face.  He will reward your faithfulness.  He will show grace, even in the midst of the consequences.  I think in the Church today we put too much emphasis on grace and not enough on justice.  We must remember that God is holy, and that for us to approach Him we must sanctify ourselves, putting aside our sinfulness to the extent that we are able. "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me." (Psalm 66:18).

Be willing to give what God asks.  Jesus said anyone who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not worthy of the kingdom.  Like David, we do not trust God enough to give away what He asks us to give away.  It is a sin to hold on to anything that stands between you and God.  We must remember that obedience to God is worth more than riches or fame or anything else.  Most of the time God will reward faithfulness and obedience, and His reward will be worth far more than whatever we gave up to get right with Him.  

My local professional baseball team, the Texas Rangers, are doing very well this year.  In Spring Training, their 2nd year manager emphasized one thing in the clubhouse: Never, Ever Give Up.  Needless to say, the team culture is better for it.