How to Not Quit: What Quitting Really Looks Like

Very few people quit something in the absolute sense.  They may quit a job, but that is very different than quitting on the dream that motivated them to take the job in the first place.  If we don't have a clear definition of "quitting", how do we know if we're being tempted to do it?

Very few people "quit" their jobs.  They "transition" to something with more potential.  Something potentially more fulfilling, lucrative, or challenging.  In other words, they may be leaving a job, but their primary dream is still alive as they move on to the next thing.

That's really where most people quit.  Few Christians ever leave the faith fully and renounce Christ.  Dreamers rarely abandon their dreams completely.  Quitting most often looks like something far more subtle than abandonment.

The most common and deadly form of quitting is the loss of passion.  It's those quiet moments when we surrender in small ways to settle for something less than we signed up for.

It's deciding we don't want to find out how far the grace of God can take us.

This is the kind of "quit" that terrifies me the most.  That deadly seductress that masquerades as your friend.  The voice that tells me that comfort is okay to settle for.  The justifications that become stronger and more convincing if we let them.  Quitting rarely feels wrong in the moment.  It feels right.  It even feels noble.  It's something that's surprisingly easy to talk ourselves into.  We think we'll be sad on the day that we quit.  We're often surprisingly relieved.

That moment of relief is the seduction, the big lie.  It buys us a season of peace without telling us we are signing up for a lifetime of regret.

We have to decide, now, that by the grace of God we will never make peace with that temptation.  That, with His help, we will fight for all that we can have and experience in Him all the days of our lives.

What has quitting looked like for you?