Text: Galatians 6:9
By: Ikuku-Damatie, Henry
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Galatians 6:9 (ESV): “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
There comes a moment in every believer’s life when the road feels too long, the burden too heavy, and the night too dark.
The enemy whispers, “It’s not worth it. No one sees. No one cares. Just quit.” But the Word of God thunders back with one clear command: Don’t give up!
PERSEVERANCE: The word in Greek is HUPOMONE. In Classical Greece it described the ability of a plant to thrive in a harsh environment – literally in the deserts and rocky slopes.
In later Greek and Jewish literature, it was used to refer to the ’spiritual staying power’ which enabled the faithful to die for their God.
Christians Will Face Tribulations in Life. John 16:33; Acts 14:21-22. Christ never promised us that this life would be a bed of roses. The Gospel never said we’d go to Heaven on flowery beds of ease. Rather, we are promised that we shall have hardships and tribulations in this life, especially if you are a faithful Child of God.
UNDERSTANDING PERSISTENCE
- Persistence is the ability to keep doing a thing continually even when you seem not to see results.
- It is the refusal to quit what you are doing even in the face of opposition, setbacks, failures, delays etc.
- It is a consistent insistence to get what you are going after. It is that spirit that refuses to take “NO” for an answer
- It is that attitude, which when life knocks you down and you have to make a choice whether to stay down, or get up.
Let us open the Scriptures and see some unbreakable reasons why the child of God must never surrender the fight of faith.
Because Your Labor Is Never in Vain in the Lord – 1 Corinthians 15:58
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Notice Paul does not say your labor is not hard. He does not say it is not painful. He says it is “not in vain”. Every prayer offered in secret, every tear wiped from a hurting child’s face, every quiet act of obedience when no one is watching; God is collecting every one of them in His bottle – (Psalm 56:8).
The world may forget, social media may never notice, but Heaven has a perfect record. Do not grow weary. Your work is building an eternal kingdom that moth and rust cannot destroy.
Because Jesus Himself Refused to Give Up on You – Hebrews 12:2–3
“…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”
When you feel like quitting, lift your eyes to Calvary. See the nails. Hear the mockery. Watch the blood drip. Jesus could have called ten thousand angels. He could have come down from the cross and silenced every scoffer. But He stayed—for you.
He endured the cross because He saw the joy of you being with Him forever. If the Son of God refused to give up on you at your worst, will you now give up on Him at your weakest?
Consider Him, church! Consider Him, and you will not grow weary! Because God’s Harvest Always Comes “In Due Season”
Galatians 6:9 again: “in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” The Greek word for “due season” is Kairos—God’s appointed time. Not our calendar, not our timetable, but His perfect moment.
Think of Joseph in the pit, the prison, forgotten by the cupbearer—13 long years before the palace.
Think of Hannah praying year after year with a barren womb while Peninnah mocked her.
Think of David, anointed king as a teenager, yet hunted like a criminal for over a decade.
They all wanted to quit. But they held on. And in due season, God lifted them up. Your “due season” is coming. The baby will be born. The prodigal will come home. The church will be revived. The healing will break through. Do not abort the promise one day before the miracle.
Because the Crown of Life Awaits Only Those Who Endure – James 1:12 – “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.”
Revelation 2:10—Jesus’ words to suffering Smyrna: “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
There is a crown with your name on it, but it is not handed out at the starting line. It is placed on the head of those who cross the finish line bruised, limping, exhausted, but still clinging to Jesus. Paul, near the end of his life, wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7–8: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness…”
He did not say, “I started well.” He said, “I finished.”
Church, starting is easy. Social media is full of people who started. Heaven will be full of people who refused to quit.
Here are powerful biblical examples of men and women who faced overwhelming reasons to quit—yet they refused to give up. Their stories are written for our encouragement – (Romans 15:4).
Noah
- Faced: 120 years of preaching with zero converts, universal mockery, and the colossal task of building a giant ship on dry land.
- Temptation to quit: “This is ridiculous. No one believes. The flood isn’t coming.”
- He didn’t give up: Kept hammering, kept preaching, kept obeying.
- Result: He and his family became the only eight people saved from the judgment that drowned the world (Genesis 6–9; 2 Peter 2:5).
Abraham & Sarah
- Faced: 25 years of barrenness after the promise of a son; Sarah was 90, Abraham 100. Bodies “as good as dead” (Romans 4:19).
- Temptation to quit: They tried shortcuts (Hagar/Ishmael) because waiting felt impossible.
- They didn’t give up: “He did not waver in unbelief… being fully convinced that God was able to do what He promised” (Romans 4:20–21).
- Result: Isaac was born, and they became the father and mother of nations.
Moses
- Faced: 40 years leading a grumbling, rebellious nation through a wilderness; they wanted to stone him multiple times.
- Temptation to quit: “Lord, just kill me now” (Numbers 11:15).
- He didn’t give up: Kept interceding, kept leading, kept trusting God’s promise.
Result: Brought Israel to the edge of the Promised Land and is remembered as the meekest man on earth (Numbers 12:3).
Elijah (the comeback after wanting to quit)
- After the greatest victory on Mount Carmel, Jezebel threatened his life and he ran in despair, praying to die under a broom tree (1 Kings 19).
- God didn’t let him quit: Fed him, spoke to him in a still small voice, and gave him a new assignment.
- Result: Elijah finished strong—taken to heaven in a chariot of fire without seeing death.
Paul
- Beaten with rods, whipped 39 lashes five times, stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked three times, in prison repeatedly (2 Corinthians 11:23–28).
- Temptation to quit: “I’ve done enough. Let someone younger take over.”
- He didn’t give up: From a Roman prison wrote, “I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
- Result: Wrote half the New Testament and turned the Roman world upside down.
Church, every hero of faith had a chapter when quitting looked reasonable.
But they all have one thing in common: they kept going one more day.
And because they did, their names are written in the eternal Word of God—and ours can be too.
So, when you feel like giving up, remember the great cloud of witnesses cheering you on (Hebrews 12:1). They’re shouting with one voice: “We faced the same temptation to quit—and by God’s grace, we didn’t. You can make it too. Don’t give up!”
Here are inspiring modern examples of perseverance—real people from the 20th and 21st centuries who faced crushing setbacks, ridicule, and near-total defeat but pressed on through faith, grit, and sheer determination. Their stories echo the biblical heroes we discussed: ordinary people with extraordinary resolve, proving that God’s promise in Galatians 6:9 holds true today.
I’ve selected a diverse set from business, arts, sports, activism, and science to show perseverance’s universal power.
Nelson Mandela (Activist and President, 1918–2013)
- Arrested at 31 for opposing apartheid, he spent 27 years in brutal South African prisons—hard labor on Robben Island, isolated from family, and labeled a terrorist by his own government. His health deteriorated, and he watched his people suffer under oppression.
- Temptation to quit: Isolation and torture could have broken him; many freedom fighters despaired or compromised.
- He didn’t give up: Mandela studied law in secret, mentored inmates, and negotiated from his cell, clinging to forgiveness and nonviolent ideals inspired by his Christian upbringing.
- Result: Released in 1990, he led South Africa to democracy, becoming its first Black president in 1994. His perseverance ended apartheid, earning him the Nobel Peace Prize and a legacy as a global icon of reconciliation.
Elon Musk (Entrepreneur, born 1971)
- In 2008, amid the financial crisis, his companies teetered on collapse—SpaceX’s first three rockets exploded in failure, Tesla faced bankruptcy (he poured his entire fortune into it), and he endured personal divorces and public scorn as a “madman.” He slept on factory floors, nearly suicidal.
- Temptation to quit: Critics called his Mars dreams delusional; investors fled, leaving him $100 million in debt.
- He didn’t give up: Musk bet everything on one final SpaceX launch, working 100-hour weeks and rallying his team with a vision of humanity’s multi-planetary future.
- Result: SpaceX’s fourth rocket succeeded, securing NASA contracts worth billions; Tesla revolutionized electric cars, making Musk the world’s richest person. Today, Starship pushes toward Mars, proving bold faith in the impossible pays off.
Stephen Hawking (Physicist, 1942–2018)
- Diagnosed at 21 with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), given two years to live; he lost muscle control, speech, and mobility, communicating via a cheek muscle and synthesizer. Bullied as a child and trapped in a failing body amid groundbreaking theories.
- Temptation to quit: Despair hit hard; he contemplated suicide early on.
- He didn’t give up: Hawking married, fathered children, and worked tirelessly, dictating A Brief History of Time letter by letter, rooted in awe of the universe’s Creator.
- Result: Lived 55 more years, authoring bestsellers that sold 25 million copies, advancing black hole physics, and inspiring millions. “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.”
Abraham Lincoln persisted until he succeeded. He was unsuccessful in many attempts in business and politics.
He refused to give up until he reached the Pinnacle of success.
Check out his records:
- In 183 he failed in business
- In 1832 he won in house of Representative
- In 1833 he failed in business again
- In 1834 he elected to legislature
- In 1836 he was down with a devastating sickness (Nervous breakdown) or depression
- In 1838 he was defeated for the position of House Speaker
- In 1840 he was defeated in an election.
- In 1843 he defeated for the Congress
- In 1855 he was defeated for the Senate
- In 1856 he didn’t get the required votes for the position of V.P.
- 1858 he defeated for the US Senate again.
However, in 1860, Abraham Lincoln, in spite of the streaks of defeat because the 6th President of the United States of America because he refused to give up. You too will make it if you refuse to give up.
Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group was another man who persisted until he succeeded.
- Two times he failed a key primary school test.
- Three times he failed middle school test
- Two times, he failed college entrance examinations
- For three years, he tried and failed in the universities’ entrance.
- He later passed and became to study English Language at the Hangzhou Teachers’ institute.
- When KFC came to China, 24 people went for the Job, 23 people were accepted. He was the only one who got rejected.
- He applied for jobs 39 times and got rejected.
- Ten times, he applied for admission into Harvard University and was rejected each and every time.
- He applied to serve as a Sea Police Officer and was rejected with 3 simple words, ” You are no good.”
- Jack Ma was frustrated, but he had the belief that something was waiting for him.
- He was finally able to find a job as an English language teacher earning as little as $12 each month. In 1999, Jack Ma founded Alibaba Group, a business using e- commerce platform.
- His idea for Alibaba was rejected and criticized by investors ad unprofitable and unsustainable.
- Jack Ma’s Alibaba suffered multiple failures. He was not profitable the first three years, but today, Jack Ma is one of the richest men in the world.
” Impossible” is the word used by those who fail to try – Mohammed Ali
A Final Exhortation and Altar Call
Some of you are one step away from throwing in the towel.
- The marriage feels dead.
- The child is still wandering.
- The doctor’s report hasn’t changed.
- The ministry feels fruitless.
- Depression keeps knocking.
Hear the voice of your Savior tonight: “I am the Alpha and the Omega. I who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
He is not finished with you yet! Paul said: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us!” (Romans 8:18).
Don’t give up, beloved. The night is almost over. The harvest is coming. The crown is waiting. And Jesus Himself will place it on your head and say, “Well done.” Keep going. Keep praying. Keep believing. Keep loving.
Keep fighting. Because in Christ, the best is always yet to come.
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