Give Up, Not Give In

Do you ever have the feeling that things aren’t going the way you want or expect them to go? I know I do, and it’s very frustrating. Do you ever face the temptation to give up because of that frustration? I know I do. What you do at that point makes all the difference in the world. That’s exactly when you should give up, not give in!

What do I mean when I say you should give up, not give in? I mean there’s a difference!

Giving In

When you give in it means you have been struggling with something. You’ve been ‘fighting the good fight,’ but you feel overwhelmed. It’s like drowning; you fight and claw at the water but it doesn’t do any good. In fact, sometimes the more you try the worse it gets. Eventually (if you don’t get relief) you give in, and then you go under.

Giving Up

When you give up you surrender yourself to something, but that’s the difference. When you give in you surrender to the problem. When you give up you still surrender, but not to the problem you face. It’s like being in a war. When you face an enemy and have to surrender, you give up to them but you aren’t overwhelmed by them. You don’t give in to them because you’re still in the army you belong to. You give up, not give in!

Give Up, Not Give In

The idea to give up, not give in is seen everywhere in the Bible. It’s in the Old Testament. It’s in the New Testament. It’s one of the key concepts of being born again; we give up to the Spirit of God and not give in to the desires of the flesh.

When you give up in a war, you stop fighting – at least temporarily. You trust in the power of your army to come and rescue you, even though your battle – at least temporarily – is over. That’s what happens when you give up, not give in. You give up the struggle to the One Who bought you.

We can stop striving and fighting against the flesh because we rely on the power of God working in us to take care of the problems we face! We can rest in Christ and simply follow his leading as He takes care of everything.

That’s why the best thing we can learn in life is how to give up, not give in!