Give Up?

Ecclesiastes 3:6 NIV
" ... a time to give up ..."

Do you sometimes felt like it was easier just to give up and do nothing? I am thinking of football players. I try to imagine what it would be like if one team just stay defensive all the times, keeping the opponent players from reaching their goal, and preventing the opponent from hurting their own players. Then somehow the defensive player stole the ball and decided to sit on it and say, "I give up."

What would you say to that? Ridiculous! Absurd! Preposterous! That's unreasonable things to do! That's not right! It makes no sense! That's dumb thing to do! That's not football! Would it makes you angry to watch the football defensive players do something like that? What would you say to them? "Get off the field and let the offensive players come into the field. Let's play game! Huh?"

Why did I bring this up? I was reading a note that say, "Satan can get along very well with Christians as long as they are on the defensive side." In another word, "try to protect yourself from getting hurt. They don't want to move forward spiritually."

To understand this, I tried to visualize the football defensive players that are always on the defensive plays. You might say: "That's not the rule of the game!" Then I understood that the offensive players take turn to play the field after defensive players leave the field. The offensive players move forward reaching the goal of touch down. Sometimes they do get hurt. They often get tackled down. Sometimes painful!!! And then they get back to the game!

If we want to shake Satan loose from us being so "defensive," we need to become "offensive" and move forward. If we want to see Satan defeated, we need to get into "spiritual offensive" and get moving! Yes, we'll get tackled down often and that's painful! But that's what it takes to be "a spiritually offensive player." A reminder that Satan isn't comfortable with "spiritual offensive" Christians who is always on the move.

So when it is "time to give up," you will experience what it is like to be "defensive" long enough so that you would become determined to get into "spiritual offensive." You would want to be on the move. The Holy Spirit is always on the move, on the offensive side so let's join with Him.

Song: I Have Decided To Follow Jesus.

1. I have decided to follow Jesus,
I have decided to follow Jesus,
I have decided to follow Jesus,
No turning back, no turning back.

2. The world behind me, the cross before me,
The world behind me, the cross before me,
The world behind me, the cross before me,
No turning back, no turning back.

3. Tho' none go with me, I still will follow,
Tho' none go with me, I still will follow,
Tho' none go with me, I still will follow.
No turning back, no turning back.

4. Will you decide now ... to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now ... to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now ... to follow Jesus?
No turning back, no turning back.

(Arranged by Cliff Barrows and Don Hustard,
Billy Graham New York Crusade Song Book
compiled by Cliff Barrows in 1969)