Never Give Up: The 201st Post!

Hello Friends,

I have some exciting news to share with you! Do you want to take a guess at what this exciting news might be? No, it’s not my birthday; and it’s not Christmas…yet. Let me tell you….DRUM ROLL PLEASE.

This post marks the beginning of a new Chapter! Last week, the 200th Post was posted on this here website! Over several years, myself and Mrs. Sarah Dart have shared with you lessons that can help you become more like Jesus every day in what you do and in what you say. This is a great achievement; and an achievement that I am excited to share with you! If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know if this would have happened. Because of you, we never gave up: we kept sharing lessons for each of you. Thank you for tuning in from week to week! If you happen to see Mrs. Sarah Dart, make sure to thank her, because she is the one who started this!

Speaking of never giving up, I think we should focus on that today. When I was your age, I remember watching a movie and reading a book about a little engine that could. This little engine, at times, wanted to give up because others were telling him that he couldn’t do anything but the small tasks. But the little engine knew that he could do so much more. So he continually told himself, “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” And guess what? He did what others thought he couldn’t do! He never gave up.

Have you ever given up on something? Have you ever wanted to give up but knew that you shouldn’t? Is there someone in your life–maybe your mom or dad–who tells you to keep going and give it another try? Have you ever told yourself, “I think I can?” I have wanted to give up a lot of times, but I knew that I needed to keep going. Let me share with you a story.

Have you ever heard of Fanny J. Crosby? Fanny was a hymn (a song) writer and poet who wrote over 8,000 hymns! I looked through my hymnal this morning and I discovered that there are seventeen hymns in this hymnal written by Fanny J. Crosby. A very short list of the most popular hymns written by Fanny would include such great hymns as “To God Be the Glory,” “I Am Thine, O Lord,” “Tell Me the Story of Jesus,” “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross,” and “All the Way My Savior Leads Me.” You may be surprised to learn that Fanny was totally blind. She lost her sight when she was only six weeks old through the negligence of a doctor who was treating an inflammation in her eyes.

Because she was blind, I am sure that many times Fanny heard the words, “You can’t do this” or “You can’t do that.” One reason I feel sure she heard those words is that she once wrote a song entitled, “Never Give Up!” The words to the refrain of that song go like this:

Never give up, never give up,
Never give up to thy sorrows,
Jesus will bid them depart;
Trust in the Lord, trust in the Lord,
Sing when your trials are greatest,
Trust in the Lord and take heart.

Fanny never gave up! “Blindness,” she wrote, “can not keep the sunlight of hope from the trusting soul.” Fanny had great faith in God and put her trust in him to get her through the obstacles she faced in her life. She never gave up, but always said “I think I can!”

Our Bible lesson today tells about another woman who had great faith and refused to give up. The Bible doesn’t tell us her name, it simply calls her “a Canaanite woman.” That means that she was a Gentile and, as you know, Jesus and his disciples were Jews. The Jews would have very little to do with gentiles. The Canaanite woman met Jesus one day as he was traveling in the region of Tyre and Sidon. She came toward him crying out, “Have mercy on me, for my daughter is possessed by an evil spirit.”

Jesus did not reply to the woman and his disciples came to him complaining that she was bothering them and asked him to tell her to leave. Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”

But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!” Jesus replied, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” The woman answered, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.” “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” At that very moment, her daughter was healed.

What if she had given up? What if her faith had not been so strong? The end of this story would be quite different, wouldn’t it? Let us follow the example set by Fanny Crosby and the Canaanite woman. Let’s “Keep the Faith” and “Never Give Up!” And as we keep going, we will come across many milestones to celebrate and give praise for. I wonder where you will be when we celebrate the 250th or the 300th or even the 400th post. Let’s not give up, because I think we can reach those numbers. Don’t give up!

Dear Jesus, we place our faith and trust in you. When we face obstacles and trials in our daily life, help us to keep our faith in you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Your Friend, Holy Spirit!

Children’s Sermon: https://sermons4kids.com/sermons/never-give-up