Sometimes I think if I were God, I would have given up on people a long time ago. Do you ever feel that way? As if the rest of the world has quit trying, and you might as well, too?

My walk with Jesus has led me through many seasons—seasons filled with hope and gratitude, seasons rich with promise and potential, seasons in which my spirit was so attuned to Christ I could see evidence of God’s presence everywhere I looked. There have been seasons of fear and uncertainty, seasons heavy with weariness, seasons of spiritual drought in which I could not seem to find God, no matter how hard I tried. And then there have been times when I was tempted to give up trying altogether, because the future seemed bleak, the world seemed to be moving backward in time rather than forward, and by comparison, my own efforts seemed so small.

In such seasons, I want to throw in the towel, throw up my hands, and just give up on doing my part to try to make the world a better place. The apostle Paul’s words to his protégé, Timothy, offer a lifeline in moments like these. Paul encourages Timothy to persevere, to keep running the race of faith despite every obstacle. Paul knows the mix of triumph and tribulation, delight and despair, energy and exhaustion of following in Jesus’ footsteps. And to steady Timothy—and us—he offers a trustworthy saying: Remember, even though you may give up, God never does. That’s not who God is. Or, as The Message translation puts it, “If we give up on him, he does not give up—for there’s no way he can be false to himself.”

Faith is the fruit of the Spirit because God is faithful, and God cannot be otherwise. Today, Paul is reminding us that when our faith wavers, we can find hope in God’s unwavering faithfulness. No matter what, God remains steadfast and true.

Faithful God, when we lose heart, when out of sadness or frustration or weariness we feel like giving up, help us, like Timothy, remember this “trustworthy saying.” Remind us of your faithfulness across all generations. May we draw near to you and receive the gift of faith, the fruit of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today’s devotion was written and read by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.