DON'T QUIT: HOW A LITTLE NUT BECOMES A GIANT OAK

Someone has said that the giant oak is a little nut that held its ground. From a little acorn to a sapling to a giant tree, it held its ground through heat, cold, wind, rain and storm. You may feel like a little nut today surrounded by insurmountable challenges, but if you will hold your ground, you will see God do incredible things in you and through you.

Getting knocked down in life is no disgrace, but refusing to get up and try again is. Consider the string of defeats suffered by one of the greatest individuals of all times; yet he refused to quit and became one of the giants of human history.

·                          In 1832 he lost his job.

·                          In 1832 he ran for the state legislature and lost.

·                          In 1833 he failed in a business venture.

·                          In 1835 his fiancé died.

·                          In 1836 he suffered a nervous breakdown.

·                          In 1838 he ran for speaker of the state legislature and lost.

·                          In 1843 he ran for Congress and lost.

·                          In 1849 he applied for the post of land officer but was rejected.

·                          In 1854 he ran for the Senate and lost.

·                          In 1856 he ran for vice-president and lost.

HOWEVER, IN 1860 ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. HE REFUSED TO QUIT - HE HELD HIS GROUND - AND BECAME A GIANT OAK!

Hebrews 6:12 tells us that it is through faith and patience that we inherit the promises of God. The word patience in this verse is a translation of the Greek word makrothumia and it means to “persevere” or to “continue in the face of trouble and adversity.” To put is simply and succinctly, it means you “don’t quit.”

Promise, Praise & Perseverance

During a tremendous battle of faith in 1989, God gave me three words which he said were keys to answered prayer. The three words were promise, praise, and perseverance. As pointed out above, perseverance is the same as the biblical word patience. It means that you don’t quit. It means that if you get knocked down, you get up again.

Hebrews 6:13-15 presents Abraham as an example of one who refused to quit and obtained the promise of God. In Genesis 13:16; 15:5, God promised Abram that his descendants would be as numerous as the sand on the seashore and as the stars of heaven. However, the years passed without any fulfillment of this promise and finally Sarai and Abram were childless and too old to bear children. What does one do when faced with such adversity? You keep your eye on the promise and you don’t quit.

It was about 14 years from the time God gave the promise to Abram to the time the promise was fulfilled in the birth of Isaac. At one time the faith of both Abram and Sarai wavered. They decided to help and hurry the fulfillment of the promise and Abram took Sarah’s maid, Hagar, and bore a son, Ishmael, through her.

God, however, revealed to them that this was not His way for the promise to be fulfilled. Abram and Sarai recovered and determined that they would trust God to fulfill that which He had promised. As a result, God changed their names: Sarai to Sarah which means “Mother of Nations;” and Abram to Abraham which means “Father of a Multitude.” 

Of Sarah, Hebrews 11:11 says that, at the age of 99, she received strength to conceive because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Of Abraham, Hebrews 6:15 says, And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. They were knocked down but they got up, kept going and obtained the promise.

The Little Nut Becomes a Giant Oak

Christians often mistakenly think that if the answer to their prayer has not manifested within a few days or weeks, that God has denied their request. NOT SO! Delay does not mean denial. Delay often means that we need to persevere in the face of adversity until we obtain the answer we desire. In other words, it means that we DON’T QUIT. Through faith and not quitting we obtain the promise.

Yes, the little nut--the acorn--has the inherent potential to become a giant oak. And as a child of God, you have incredible, inherent potential in you. To realize that potential you must hold your ground. If you will hold your ground and refuse to quit, you will see God do amazing things in you, through you and on your behalf.

This article was written by Dr. Eddie Hyatt who is an author, Bible teacher, and revivalist. Check out his books on Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.