Don't you dare give up.

Quick note: this article is a shortened version of a speech I made at Gauley Bridge Baptist Church for their ladies' brunch!

James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."

And Galatians 6:9 says, "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

We have heard these verses countless times, but do we really believe them and do we really live our lives like these verses contain the key to getting through a difficult season?

I want to tell a story that I have been telling a lot here lately, but it’s a story that proves the faithfulness of God and I honestly love telling it so much now. My friend actually called me the other day and told me that she told my story to a friend of hers and that it really encouraged this girl. And after my friend told me that, I was encouraged too.

My Grammy and Pawpaw both passed away about two years ago and my Grammy was like a second mother to me. I lived next door to my grandparents my entire life and there wasn’t a single week when I didn’t get to see them, so you can imagine how close I was to her and my Pawpaw. My Grammy died from a heart problem that she had had for about 10 years, unknowingly. One random day, she noticed that she couldn’t walk across a room without losing her breath so that’s when we took her to the hospital and that was also when we found out that she had a heart problem. After the surgery, we got word that the surgery went well and that Grammy was in stable condition. And after a couple of days, my mom was able to bring me down to the hospital to see my Grammy. When we got there, we saw that Grammy had a lot of complications from the surgery.

As the next few days went on, something would get better for Grammy and then something else would get worse. She had a few more surgeries and eventually, my family decided that it was time for her to be with Jesus.

And yes it is a very sad story, but I genuinely love telling this story (which is such a weird thing to say). That entire week that my Grammy was sick (after we visited her in the hospital), my faith in God skyrocketed. My prayers were so specific and personal and intimate and I had never felt God so close to me in my life. His hand was truly on my shoulder this entire week.

I was taught my entire life what to do when a difficult trial came my way, but I had never really experienced a trial as difficult as this one. But I knew the only thing I could do was just pray at that point, and believe and hope that God would perform a miracle on my Grammy.

In the Bible, there's a story about the children of Israel and how they built a golden calf when things weren’t going their way while they were heading to the Promised Land. And even though the Israelites weren’t faithful, God was still faithful to them. Later in Deuteronomy, the Bible talks about how Joshua was commissioned to lead Israel to the Promised Land. The Israelites were acting up like usual, so in verses 21-23, the Bible says,

“And when many disasters and calamities come on them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath.” So Moses wrote down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites. The Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you.”

When I was going through that terribly difficult season of life when my grandparents died, I had no choice but to turn to God in my desperate time of need. He was with me the entire time. He never left me (even though it felt like He did at certain points in time). But rather, His hand never left my shoulder. He guided me that entire time.

Maybe you’re going through a difficult season right now. Maybe you’re having family problems, health problems, relationship problems, you name it. Or maybe you’re even going through the exact same season that I had just told you about. Whatever it is, don’t forget that He is holding onto you and keeping you from falling. He has His hand on your shoulder, covering you and protecting you from even worse.

You know exactly what to do in times like these. God tells us what to do all throughout the Bible – do not give up and do not lose hope!

When God says to do something and you do it, He doesn’t take it lightly. When you’re in a season of life and you are desperate for deliverance, and you do what God tells you to do during seasons like this, He will not take it lightly at all. Read that again and write it down.

He will pick the souls who He knows can prove who He says He is. That is the God we serve – a God who will keep His promises. Don’t you dare give up on Him because He is not done with you yet.