Don't Quit

 

Edgar A. Guest says it best with the words of this powerful poem.  It is worth reading and putting somewhere close so you can read it again sometime in the future.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low but the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit...
Rest if you must, but don't you quit!
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many failures turn about
When we might have won had we stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow...
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out...
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

The following words from Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of the Bible also make a lot of sense. "But don’t quit. Don’t cave in. It is all well worth it in the end. It is not success you are after in such times but survival. Be survivors! Before you’ve run out of options, the Son of Man will have arrived." - Matthew 10:22-23 (The Message)

Living in Grace

D3LM3

 

All that Matters

Recently I have come across a number of poems by Edgar Guest - they are brilliant! His poems convey messages on so many different levels, but I liked this one entitled "All that matters!" For me, it reminds me that God has blessed us with life and called us to live well. May these words inspire you to do all you can for Jesus' sake.

"When all that matters shall be written down  
And the long record of our years is told,  
Where sham, like flesh, must perish and grow cold;  
When the tomb closes on our fair renown  
And priest and layman, sage and motleyed clown  
Must quit the places which they dearly hold,  
What to our credit shall we find enscrolled? 
And what shall be the jewels of our crown? 
I fancy we shall hear to our surprise  
Some little deeds of kindness, long forgot,  
Telling our glory, and the brave and wise  
Deeds which we boasted often, mentioned not. 
God gave us life not just to buy and sell,  
And all that matters is to live it well."

Acts 11:17 - "So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

Living in Grace
D3LM3