Never Give Up

A few years ago my wife and I attended a seminar about families and it encouraged us to be intentional about our family. To have clear family values, to be intentional, to have a family mission statement, etc. My wife and I and our kids got together and enjoyed coming up with all that together. But I decided to take it one step further and also pick a family theme song. I decided our family theme song should be Never Give Up. We sing it almost every week when we do family worship to welcome the Sabbath on Friday night. My wife, myself, and the kids sing it in Portuguese, but I’ll share the English lyrics below.

There are days I know when you get so discouraged,
It seems that all hope is gone.
But there's only One who can give you courage
And strength to carry on.

Never give up, Jesus is coming.
It's the darkest just before dawn.
Never give up, Jesus is coming.
Never give up, keep holding on!

This old world I know can't last much longer,
And sin will soon pass away.
But my faith in God simply keeps growing stronger,
For Jesus is coming some day!

Never give up, Jesus is coming.
It's the darkest just before dawn.
Never give up, Jesus is coming.
Never give up, keep holding on!

Little did I know one day I would pastor the church where Chuck and Donna Fulmore are members. There’s a whole book that just came out Never Give Up: The Stories Behind the Songs of the Chuck Fulmore Trio. We had a special celebration of Chuck and Donna’s ministry at our church, the Cloverdale Seventh-day Adventist Church, and it got me thinking about this song.

The song Never Give Up, or in Portuguese ‘Não Desistir’ is part of the Portuguese Seventh-day Adventist Church Hymnal. I grew up singing this song. I have it memorized and sing it whenever the going gets tough.

Colporteuring

When I finished my freshman year of college I was recruited to be a colporteur and spent that summer traveling and selling religious books. This was a great experience but definitely not an easy one. I traveled with a group and spent my days going to homes and businesses and doing my very best to sell books to help pay for my college tuition. I don’t know if you have ever gone door to door trying to sell things, it is not an easy thing to do. Many people are nice, some are really mean, and most probably just don’t want to be bothered in their homes.

I remember one particular day, it was hot, the middle of the summer somewhere in Ohio. I had gone all morning without selling a single book. We took our lunch break and I went out again in the afternoon. Heavy bag on one shoulder with a copy of each book we sold, a couple of copies of the more popular books. Walking all day, sweat dripping down my back, knocking on door after door after door, and getting rejected every single time. Some people were polite, some were rude, and many just refused to open the door (though it was obvious they were home). I was feeling down, I was feeling sorry for myself, and I just wanted to call it a day, shower, eat and rest.

But I remembered why I was doing this. Partly, because I was going to college and needed to do what I could to help pay for tuition. But mostly I wanted to spread the gospel and bless others. I believed the books I sold would be a blessing to those who purchased it so my motivation was financial but it also went beyond that. In a way, I saw my work that summer, selling Christian books from door to door as missionary work, taking the gospel to people who may not have heard it before.

With a desire to help others with books about the love of God and messages of hope and encouragement, I pressed on. But being rejected all day was taking its toll on me. I was starting to doubt if I was doing any good. Maybe I was just annoying people, disturbing their family time. I began to feel bad and my desire to keep going was waning after each rejection. Then I began to sing to myself Never Give Up

“There are days I know when you get so discouraged…”

But in Portuguese

Dias há, bem sei, em que triste te sentes

Sem ter esperança e prazer

Mas existe alguém que promete ajudar-te

E forças à alma trazer

Then the chorus, (in English)

Never give up, Jesus is coming.

It's the darkest just before dawn.

Never give up, Jesus is coming.

Never give up, keep holding on!

As I sang that song to myself I found it easier to walk to the next house, and the one after that. Eventually, the sky began to get darker and that was a sign we were almost done for the day. I knocked on a door and the lady who opened the door was just the nicest person I had talked to all day. She was old enough to be my grandmother and was just so kind and friendly. She invited me in, and usually, I would have declined, but she was so nice and I was so tired I came in. She offered her sofa for me to sit on and it felt like the most comfortable sofa I had ever sat on. I put down my heavy book bag by my feet and she came to me with a glass filled with cool water.

She set down across from me and asked me about the books I was selling. I went through book by book handing them to her and she showed great interest in all of them. The devotionals about peace, the books on hope, the cookbooks, the children’s cookbooks, she eagerly listened and asked me questions and flipped through many of the books. A

As I was about to close my presentation the doorbell rang. Usually several of us would do the same neighborhood, often starting at opposite ends of a street and working towards each other. The person who rang the doorbell was my friend who had started on the other end of the street. He had made it to my house. My heart sank. My presentation had been going so well and now the lady had been distracted, she got up and went to answer the door, invited my friend in, and went to grab him water. I greeted my friend and we talked briefly, he had not had much luck on this street which is why he had caught up to me so quickly.

The sweet lady came back. She shared briefly about her life. She shared how she loved Jesus and had been praying. Her children were grown and had walked away from God. She was praying to God for the salvation of her children and grandchildren. She told us that she believed we were an answer to her prayer. She wanted to buy all of my books, one of each kind. Since my friend had arrived she took about half of my books and half from my friend. She grabbed her pocketbook and pulled out a crisp $100 bill and handed it to me.

My friend and I knew that $100 would not cover all the books she had bought. But I did not have the heart to tell her that, my friend followed my lead and we prayed with her. Her tears flowed as we prayed and after she thanked us for working for God we left. At first, I had been upset at my friend for interrupting my sale. But there was no way he could have known. I divided the sale with him 50/50, at first he wanted me to take all of it but I insisted. I realized my friend needed that blessing as much as I had. Now we also divided the debt, since that lady had underpaid we each had to make up the difference and preferably before it got too dark and we had to stop for the day. My friend and I were now reinvigorated and sold plenty of books before the end of the evening. God blessed us with more than enough to cover the deficit from the lady’s house.

What that sweet lady offered us was a reminder that God would use us to touch the lives of people who were seeking Him. What I needed was a reminder that the work I was doing was meaningful and that ultimately God is my provider. The song ‘Never Give Up’ reminded me that Jesus was coming and that sharing the gospel was a worthwhile effort. In light of eternity, spending my summer knocking on doors and offering people the opportunity to learn more about God was meaningful work.

Never Give Up?

Never giving up sounds like a great idea. But is it always a good idea?

Is every endeavor you pursue worth pursuing to the end? What if you’re engaged in what ultimately turns out to be a distraction, or even worse, what if it is harmful in the long run?

Never giving up is a powerful message, but we need wisdom to know whether the activity or pursuit we are engaged in is worthwhile. That is why I like the chorus of the song ‘Never Give Up’ by Chuck Fulmore because it does not simply say "never give up” it also says “Jesus is coming.” And I believe that qualifier makes all the difference. The affirmation that Jesus is coming helps clarify whether or not I should give up on my specific task. In light of Jesus’ imminent return should you continue to push forward in this particular endeavor?

Galatians 6:9 comes to mind, but let’s look at it in its immediate context.

Do not lose heart

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
- Galatians 6:7-9 NKJV

Paul is writing to the Corinthians and explaining cause and effect on a spiritual level. When we chase after things of the flesh we will reap corruption. When we chase after things of the spirit we reap eternal life. When I consider eternity it causes me to question what I am “sowing” to use Paul’s illustration. Am I sowing to my flesh of to the Spirit? Am I living for myself or am I living for God? These are really important questions to ask ourselves.

I like verse 9 in the New Living Translation

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
- Galatians 6:9 NLT

The New American Standard Bible says “Let’s not become discouraged in doing good,”

These different translations help get the idea across, don’t get tired in doing good. Keep going. It is worthwhile. Good will come out of it in due time. We may not see or experience the good that will come from our willingness to persevere in doing good, but Paul says it will happen in due time. Paul concludes this message by saying that as far as possible, we should do good to all, especially those in the family of faith.

This is a great situation to employ “never give up.” When you are doing good, and it is not easy, and you don’t see any benefit coming from it, the Bible says we should keep doing good whenever we have the opportunity. In due time good will come of it. Our part is to do good whenever the opportunity presents itself and not give up.

My challenge for you is to do good whenever you have the opportunity to do so, and to not give up on doing good. This world desperately needs more people who are willing to consistently do good. Let’s be a part of the good in this world. Doing good is not easy, but it is worthwhile.

And remember,

Never Give Up,

Jesus is coming!