Do You Give Up?

While driving to work and listening to the radio a few weeks ago, these two songs (words below)  played back to back and the Lord has used that experience since then to speak a message into my heart.  Two words in particular stood out to me as I listened to the words to these two songs.   Two words that mean so many different things when put together.  Those two words are "give up".   


When I think of the word "give", my initial thought goes quickly to the word "offer"....as in "I want to give my mom a birthday gift".  Then I thought about the word "up" and my mind immediately wondered to the the opposite word "down".  But when I began to ponder the words together, "give up", my mind wondered through many different renderings of these words.


Praying about, I felt lead to investigate this phrase further, so today, I decided to look up on online dictionary to discover the  meaning of the phrase "give up".  Here is what I found!!  http://www.visualthesaurus.com/app/view


After viewing just a few meanings of this phrase and I am in awe of God's greatness in our lives!  Seriously, check this out!  Here are the amazing things I discovered:


~to lose, or lose the right to by some error, offense or crime (waive, forgo, forfeit, throw overboard)
What dreams in my life have I "thrown overboard" and what visions have I "forfeited" due to fear, anger, frustration, frustrations, or complacency that I have allowed to dwell within me? 


~give up with the intent of never claiming again (abandon, hand over, leave behind)
What dreams/visions/aspirations, that were given to me by Him, have I abandoned?  What gifts has He given me that I have not used and instead have chosen to leave behind (as I continue to do my own thing), or worse yet...hand over to the enemy for his use?


~stop maintaining or insisting on; of ideas or claims (abandon)
Where have I compromised and/or given up on the things that I KNOW are FROM Him or on the things that I know to be OF Him?  


~give up or agree to forgo to the power or possession of another (surrender)
Who is it that I surrender to.......God or the enemy?  WHO do I belong to....WHO do I find my identity in, WHO do I submit to?


~part with a possession or right (resign, relinquish, release, free)
What is it today that He is asking me to relinquish to Him?  What is it that He wanted to release into my life today?  What are the areas that He desires me to be free of in my heart today?


~give up what is not strictly needed (dispense with, spare, part with)
What excess baggage is He wanting me to part with in exchange for Kingdom gifts?  What is it that He wants me to get rid of or dispense with today?


~stop consuming; as in a habit (kick)
In what area of my life to I need to stop consuming things that are not of Him?  What habit do I need to give up or kick in order to experience freedom and growth in the Lord?


~put an end to a state or activity (cease, stop)
What activity do I need to sacrifice in order to spend more time with Him in prayer and conversation through the reading of His Word?


~allow the other team to score (quit, allow)
Where is it in my life that I have been slack and allowed the enemy to score?  Where have I spiritually stated, "This is too tough...... I quit!"?


~give up in the face of defeat, of lacking hope (throw in the towel, fall by the wayside, drop out)
What areas of my life have I experience a spiritual drop out?  What dreams/visions have I allowed to fall by the wayside due to a lack of faith/hope in the One who gave me those very things? 


After some time spent in the Word and after much prayer, I have decided that I do want to be a person that "gives up".  Yes, I want to give up (surrender) to Him, I want to give up (relinquish) my right to this or that.  I do want to stand on His Word and on the truth of all that is Jesus!  However, I do not want to give up as in drop out, throw in the towel, quit trusting Him etc.  My true heart's desire is to be a woman that is willing to take all that He has deposited in me, all that He has planted in me, all that He has nurtured and grown in me, all that He has gifted me with....take it all and give it up....yes, give it up, as in, lift it up to Him so He can use it and pour more and more deposits into my life....allowing me to pour out more and more of Him into the lives of others.  


Father, thank you for the lesson You have imparted to me through these two little words.  Words that when put together have extreme value and meaning when viewed in relation to You.  Father, today, help me to give up all of the things in my life that are not of You and help me to not give up on You and the things that are from You.  May my desires always be Kingdom focused and my responses always be Kingdom grown and Kingdom bound.  In Jesus Name I pray~ Amen




Strong Enough
By: Matthew West


You must, You must think I'm strong 
To give me what I'm going through 

Well forgive me 
Forgive me if I'm wrong 
But this looks like more than I can do 
On my own


I know I'm not strong enough to be 
Everything that I'm supposed to be 
I give up 
I'm not strong enough 
Hands of mercy won't you cover me 
Lord right now I'm asking you to be 
Strong enough 
Strong enough 
For the both of us 

Well, maybe, maybe that's the point 
To reach the point of giving up
Cause when I'm finally 
Finally at rock bottom 
Well, that's when I start looking up 
And reaching out 

Chorus

Cause I'm broken 
Down to nothing 
But I'm still holding on to the one thing 
You are God 
and You are strong 
When I am weak 

I can do all things 
Through Christ who gives me strength 
And I don't have to be 
Strong enough 
Strong enough 

I can do all things 
Through Christ who gives me strength 
And I don't have to be 
Strong enough 
Strong enough 


The Redeemer
By: Sanctus Real


Sometimes I just want to start over
'Cause everything looks like a wreck
And I need the courage to carry on
'Cause I can't see what's ahead

And there are places I've wished I could be
Battles I've wanted to win
Dreams that have slipped through my hands
I may never get back again

But I'm still a dreamer, a believer
Oh, I've lost my faith in so many things
But I still believe in You
'Cause You can make anything new

Sometimes I just wish we could say
All the things that are easy to hear
Ignore the injustice we see
And explain every unanswered prayer

But I'd rather speak honestly
And wear a tattered heart on my sleeve
'Cause in the middle of my broken dreams
Redemption is here

And I'm still a dreamer, a believer
Oh, I lost my faith in so many things
But I still believe in You
'Cause You are the answer, the Redeemer

Oh, I've given up on too many things
But I'm not giving up on You
'Cause You can make anything new

I don't have every answer in life
But I'm trusting You one day at a time
'Cause You can make a weak heart stay alive
Forever

This is where heaven and earth collide
I lift my hands and I give my life
This is how my weary heart stays alive

Oh, I'm still a dreamer, still a believer
And You are the answer, the Redeemer
'Cause You can make anything new
Yeah, You can make anything new