Giving up or giving over

If you have lived very long at all, you have no doubt discovered that there are very few things in life that we can control. We can insure, we can prepare, we can anticipate, and we can be ready and faithful, but we cannot control many outcomes. When we try too hard to control most things, we end up disappointing ourselves or frustrating the people around us, and we inevitably come to a place where we are tempted to either give up or give over.

Giving up is resignation; giving over is faith.

There are enough uncontrollable things in life to tempt us to throw up our hands and say, “I’m done. There is nothing I can do about this so I quit!” Another response is to give those things over to God, trusting that He is indeed working something significant and special in the middle of those uncontrollable outcomes. Despite our lack of control, we can hold onto a powerful faith that says, “I will do my part. I can’t control the outcome and I must accept the vulnerability of my situation, but I will not relinquish the powerful weapons of prayer, faith, devotion, and praise. I will do my part, God will do whatever God is going to do, and at the end of the day, I will sleep well knowing that I have done what I can do, which is all that I can do, and that will have to be enough.” Interestingly, when we live that way, outcomes often do change.

When we give over in faith instead of giving up in despair, outcomes usually do shift and things often swing back into our favor until we see beauty rise from ashes, joy dawning with the morning, and awesome new beginnings emerging from times that seemed quite formidable or grim.

You cannot control things, even by your faith and prayer. However, you can live in a way that positions you for whatever outcome God has in store. So, if you are tempted to give up today, please don’t. Give it over instead. Don’t resign. Rise up with a faith that says, “I will do my part, God will do His, and it will ultimately be well.”

“So she went and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, ‘Behold, there is the Shunammite. Please run now to meet her and say to her, “Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?”‘ And she answered, ‘It is well.'” (2 Kings 4:23-26 NASB).