The Temptation to Give Up: God Says Stand Firm

Introduction: the temptation every believer faces

We all know Christians who followed the Lord for a while, then let go of his hand. Some were deeply involved in ministry, some were even role models for others, and yet they went back to the life they had before their conversion. Maybe this thought has already crossed your mind too: giving up, turning back, because you were worn out, sick, discouraged by the attitude of a brother or sister, or because God didn't answer your prayers the way you hoped.

This Sunday, Jean-Marc Botteron opens the Word in Jeremiah 2:13: "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the spring of living waters, and cut them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." What traps does Satan set on your path to make you give up on God? You need to stay alert and persevere to the end: "He who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:13).

The outline

1. The tempter's work: how Satan operates

2. What believers end up giving up

3. The reasons behind giving up

1. The tempter's work: how Satan operates

Paul warns us: "that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes" (2 Corinthians 2:10-11). Our adversary works around the clock, seven days a week, to harm God's children.

He draws near. Many Christians think that now that they're converted, the devil will leave them alone. Yet the account of the temptation says the devil came to Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11). If he did it to Jesus, he will try it with each of us. He comes to plant thoughts of doubt, unbelief, thoughts that pull us away from God. He did it with Peter, whispering to him to hold Jesus back at the very moment Jesus was announcing his cross.

He makes you long for the past. "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for God's Kingdom" (Luke 9:62). When you drive, you sometimes glance in the rearview mirror, but you don't drive while staring at it, or you'll hit every wall. That's what happened to Israel in the wilderness: they longed for the fish, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, and the onions of Egypt, "good enough for a nice soup." But they forgot that in Egypt they were slaves under Pharaoh's yoke. It's better to face a hard situation with God than to live in abundance without him. Without God, no cucumber, no melon will ever fill your heart.

He dangles a better future outside of God's path. He did it with Eve: "you will be like God" (Genesis 3:5). He offered it to Jesus: "If you will fall down and worship me, I will give you all these things," the riches, the glory, the kingdoms. But the devil never gives anything for free: there is always a price to pay. He is a liar and the father of lies. Jesus rejected him: "Get behind me, Satan!" (Matthew 4:10). That's the stance of God's child: no compromise with the devil's promises.

He tears you down. He'll tell you that you're not worth it, that nobody cares about you, that God isn't listening to you. He even convinces some people that their life has no value and that they'd be more at peace if they died. These are lies. Jesus says: "See the birds of the sky, that they don't sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you of much more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26). Scientists have tried to reduce man to an evolved animal; Jesus says the opposite: you're worth far more. God did not send his Son to die for animals or for angels, but for human beings, because you carry great worth in his eyes.

2. What believers end up giving up

Giving up on God himself. In Jeremiah 2:13, the people commit two evils: they forsake God, the only spring of living waters, and dig for themselves broken cisterns that can't hold water. Only God can quench your thirst in the desert of this world. The world constantly pours out polluted water to give souls a drink, and that's all most people have. But when you dig your own cistern to look for water elsewhere, it leaks and never truly satisfies you. And there is a consequence: "Isn't this because you have forsaken Yahweh your God, when he led you by the way?" (Jeremiah 2:17). A slow drift can creep in over time, as happened to the church of Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7), which had left its first love, had grown cold spiritually, and had closed in on itself.

Giving up on Jesus. This even happened to the disciples themselves: "Then all the disciples left him and fled" (Matthew 26:56). Three years with the Lord, his teachings, his grace, his miracles, his glory, and yet, when Jesus was arrested at Gethsemane, they all abandoned him. They didn't understand that Jesus was giving up his life for the salvation of the world; they only saw a defeat. There will be seasons in your Christian life that you won't understand: "Why, Lord, this trial? Why didn't you answer?" Don't let go of the Lord's hand, even when you don't understand. That's what determination looks like.

Giving up on ministry. "for Demas left me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica" (2 Timothy 4:10). Demas wasn't an ordinary believer: he was Paul's companion, a spiritual leader, engaged in ministry. But ministry demands sacrifice, and there's a price to pay. At some point, that price felt too heavy for him: love for the world took over again. We don't even know what became of him. When love for the world becomes stronger than love for God, we let go of the work. The rich young man did the same: he wanted to follow Jesus, but his love of money (that idol of the heart Jesus calls Mammon), was stronger. It wasn't wealth itself that held him back, it was his attachment to it.

Giving up on the church community. "not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25). This isn't new: even in the early church, some kept their distance and preferred to stay apart. Today, online services are convenient when you're sick, but Jesus wanted us to gather physically, not to stay behind screens. The Greek word ekklesia means "those called out [of the world]" to gather in one place. In the church, you rub shoulders with different personalities; you practice patience and self-control there. You'll sometimes be disappointed by a brother or sister (that's inevitable), but you can rise above the differences. This is Jesus's command: "Love one another, even as I have loved you" (John 13:34). It isn't a suggestion, it's a command.

Giving up the faith. "But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1). Faith is like a fire that needs tending. If you don't watch over it, it fades, and Paul says elsewhere that some have shipwrecked their faith. Those who walk away end up attached to other doctrines: behind atheism hide seducing spirits that push people to believe in nothing. "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19). Stephen, on the other hand, was "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:5). That's the calling.

3. The reasons behind giving up

Life's trials. "Those on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; but these have no root, who believe for a while, then fall away in time of temptation" (Luke 8:13). Receiving the Word is the first step; it isn't enough. You need roots, spiritual solidity, to be grounded in Christ, to have dug deep into the Word. Without roots, you'll give way under trials and persecution.

Failures. Nothing is more discouraging than a failure. A father brought his disciples his son, tormented by a spirit that threw him into the fire or into the water (Mark 9:14-29). The disciples couldn't set him free. Jesus cast out the spirit and the child was delivered; he explained to his disciples that this was because of their unbelief, and that "this kind can come out by nothing, except by prayer and fasting." The father, though, did not give up. A baby learning to walk falls dozens of times before standing steady; we don't condemn him, we lift him back up. Failures aren't the end, they're a stepping stone.

The feeling that God isn't answering. You prayed, and you didn't get the answer you expected. But maybe your prayer wasn't aligned with his will, and God answers prayers that are Spirit-led. Maybe the answer is simply delayed: you see nothing, then at some point it comes. This is where you learn patience and faith, which isn't exactly our strongest quality in an age when everything moves fast. God made Moses the most patient man on earth. And sometimes God doesn't answer because it wouldn't be good for you. You need to accept that too: God is the Creator of heaven and earth, and we are in his school.

Points to remember

• Satan works relentlessly: he draws near, plants thoughts, tears you down, dangles something better elsewhere. Stay alert, you are not ignorant of his schemes (2 Cor 2:11).
• The only spring of living water is God. Every other cistern is broken and cannot fill your soul (Jer 2:13).
• Looking back (like Israel longing for the fish and onions of Egypt), always pulls you back toward slavery.
• The disciples abandoned Jesus because they didn't understand the cross. Don't let go of his hand when you don't understand.
• Demas and the rich young man both chose love of the world instead. Refuse to let love of the world grow stronger than your love for God.
• Don't neglect the church community: Jesus wanted us gathered physically, not isolated behind screens (Heb 10:25).
• Without roots, you give way. Deepen your roots in the Word so you can stand firm under trial (Luke 8:13).
• "He who endures to the end will be saved" (Matt 24:13).

Personal application

• What "broken cistern" are you tempted to dig right now to quench your soul's thirst, instead of returning to the spring of living water?
• Is there a past (spiritual or material), that you long for, so much that God needs to remind you that you were a slave there?
• Where is the enemy tearing you down today? Which of Jesus's words do you want to set against those lies?
• Like Demas, is there a "love for this present world" that is starting to weigh more in your heart than your love for God?
• What are your spiritual roots resting on? Is your faith standing on rock, or only on the emotion of a word you once received?
• What unanswered prayer is feeding your temptation to give up? Can you accept the silence or the delay as a school of patience?

Scriptures quoted

• Jeremiah 2:13
• Jeremiah 2:17
• Matthew 4:1-11
• Matthew 6:26
• Matthew 24:13
• Matthew 26:56
• Mark 9:14-29
• Luke 8:13
• Luke 9:62
• John 13:34
• Acts 6:5
• 2 Corinthians 2:10-11
• 1 Timothy 4:1
• 2 Timothy 4:10
• Hebrews 10:25
• 1 John 5:19
• Revelation 2:1-7

FAQ

What do the "broken cisterns" in Jeremiah 2:13 mean?

God rebukes his people for two evils: forsaking him, the only spring of living waters, and digging cisterns for themselves that can't hold water. The cistern represents anything you look for outside of God to quench your soul's thirst: distractions, pleasures, the world's securities. Those cisterns always leak: they never truly satisfy. Only God's spring can really quench spiritual thirst.

Can you really lose your faith after having followed the Lord?

Paul, in 1 Timothy 4:1, says plainly that "some will fall away from the faith." He also speaks elsewhere of believers who have shipwrecked their faith. Faith is like a fire that needs tending; without watchfulness, it fades. Demas, Paul's own co-worker, walked away out of love for this present world. Hence Jesus's call: "He who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:13).

Is it a problem to stop attending church gatherings if I watch the service online?

Hebrews 10:25 urges us not to forsake the assembling together, "as the custom of some is." The Greek word ekklesia refers to people called to gather in one place. Online services are helpful when you're sick, but Jesus intended a church of flesh and blood, where you rub shoulders with brothers and sisters, where you practice patience and self-control, where you learn to love despite the differences. A screen doesn't replace real fellowship.