By Joseph Perry

Have you been in a place in life when you felt like giving up?

That’s what I was told by a man recently. He said, “I got fed up with all that was going on in my life. It seemed as though one thing came after another. My marriage was failing, and my kids were struggling in school. I was pressured with high demands on my job. Lastly, I went to the doctor and he told me I need to make some changes, or I would have more serious problems with my health.”

There are times in life when life issues will pin you to the wall and you will not know what to do. When this happens, you need not to give up or give in, but trust the Lord with all your heart.

We see in Psalm 30:1-5 that David is shifting his focus, and we need to shift ours from what we are going through to who is carrying us through.

We all may have been there some time or another and needed to hear that it’s going to get better. Life will bring about so many challenges. Our challenges that we encounter will put pressure on our belief in God. Giving up should never be in our thought process. Giving up should never be in your vocabulary.

Even though David was dealing with so much, he was persuaded that nothing would stop him from going forward. It’s all right to shed tears; even Jesus Himself cried. Just because you cry at times, doesn’t mean you are giving up. We must remember to look to the hills from whence comes our help, for our help comes from the Lord.

We all may have felt like giving up, but we have to realize that weeping is optional. Weeping may endure for a night, and we cannot control the night, but we can control what we do during the night. I can weep and praise at the same time, because this joy I have — the world didn’t give it to me, and the world can’t take it away. With God’s favor, that means His grace is on our lives. With His grace, that means we can get through our distractions, our deceptions and our discouragements. Don’t give up, you’re going to make it with His help. Remember to remain calm, knowing all of your help comes from the Lord.

The Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Perry is pastor of St. Mark AME Zion Church. Contact him at josephp134@gmail.com.