How to Have a Bad Day Step 29: Give Up

We live in a world where everything is expected to be instant. Drive-thru meals, Amazon Prime deliveries, binge-watching whole seasons in one night. And somewhere along the way, we decided life should work the same way.

Hollywood trained us to expect every conflict to be wrapped up in 90 minutes, complete with a soundtrack, character development, and a happy ending. But real life doesn’t work that way. It’s messy. It’s slow. And it requires perseverance.

Trouble is Guaranteed

Jesus flat out said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). Yet somehow, every time hardship shows up, we moan: “Life is unfair! Why me? God must hate me!”

Yet Scripture flips that on its head. Trouble isn’t proof that God has abandoned you—it’s proof that you’re alive in a broken world that Christ is actively redeeming. Trials aren’t interruptions to your life; they’re opportunities to lean into His strength, grow endurance, and see His faithfulness in action.

Ever Notice How Easy it is to Give Up?

When work gets hard, we tell ourselves, “This isn't for me.” When school feels overwhelming, we say, “Maybe I’m just not cut out for this.” We don’t like discomfort, so we bounce. But growth always comes with grind. Proverbs 12:11

Why do we quit health goals so easily? Because results take time. We want six-packs by Friday and blood sugar miracles by Monday. One cookie and it’s, “Well, I blew it. Might as well eat the rest of the box.” A stumble isn’t the end—unless you make it one. Galatians 6:9

Marriage gets hard? Divorce. Friends hurt your feelings? Ghost them. Family drama? Block and mute. Our culture tells us, “You deserve better, cut out toxic people” but often what we need is to fight for the "better". Real love doesn’t abandon—it sticks, even when it hurts. Proverbs 17:17

We give up on hobbies or passions because we aren’t instantly brilliant at them. Day two on the guitar and our fingers hurt? I'll never be good. We live for applause, not process. But mastery takes time. Flames don’t ignite fully formed—they need tending. 2 Tim. 1:6

And the most tragic thing we quit on is ourselves. Shame, failure, or comparison whispers, “You’ll never change. Why even try?” So we stop trying. But God says otherwise. You might quit on you—but He never does. Philippians 1:6

We Quit on Jesus

I've heard and read countless accounts of people that say they tried church, God, or Christianity and it "didn't work" for them. I get it. Much of what passes for Christianity these days and what they call church, doesn't work for me either.

But Jesus does. He is literally water for our souls and the source for all life. Just like our bodies need water to thrive, our souls need Him. Everything else is just temporary refreshment that you have to keep going back to because it doesn't sustain. So yeah, nothing else will "work".

Paul wrote, “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3–4).

That’s the long game. Perseverance → Character → Hope. But if we keep chasing quick fixes, we never get past the suffering stage—we bail too early.

Final Thought

When I was in high school I had a bookmark with a poem on it called "Do Not Quit". It was kind of a faith statement for me and I determined to trust God for whatever my future had in store for me. I determined to believe He would ordain my paths and I would not quit anything just because it gets hard.

Decades later, during a recent season of transition, panic, and doubt, I stumbled across the same poem at Value Village—brand new, still wrapped in plastic. The colors matched my freshly painted office walls perfectly. God was reminding me: “I’ve still got you. Don’t quit.”

So I’ll leave you with this poem. May it strengthen your resolve today:

Don’t Quit

by Edgar A. Guest (1921)

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

And the road you're trudging seems all uphill;

When the funds are low and debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh;

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must—but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a fellow turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;

And you never can tell just how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit

It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

If you're thinking about giving up today, don’t. Keep going. Perseverance builds character, and character gives birth to hope. And hope is how you’ll have a much better day.