I read of a minister
who felt so depressed and defeated that he was ready to give in to discouragement.
One morning as he sat dejectedly by the window, he looked outside and noticed
a starling perched on the sill. The bird seemed to look steadily at him and
chirp what sounded like “Give it up! Give it up!” in starling language.
The pastor thought about his seeming failure in the work God had given him. Was
the starling sending him a message?

As the pastor contemplated
this question, his wife entered the room. When he told her what had happened,
she went to the window to listen. The starling again chirped the phrase that
sounded like “Give it up! Give it up!” The pastor’s wife laughed,
then turned to her husband and said with a smile, “Why, that starling is
saying, ‘Keep it up! Keep it up!’ not give it up.”

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In Remember All the Way, William C. Townsend related the story of an evangelist who was facing discouragement and criticism. One day he said to a colleague:

“Don Guillermo, I’m going to quit.” Guillermo replied, “Why do you give your resignation to me? When you began your service, you said the Lord Jesus Christ was calling you to tell others about Him. I think you’d better present your resignation to the One who called you. Let’s get down on our knees here, and you tell Him that you are going to quit. Let Him hear what you’ve just told me – that it’s too hard, that too many people criticize you. Tell the Lord – He’s the one who sent you.” “Well, I hesitate to do that,” he replied. “I’m afraid He’ll tell me to stay with the job.” “If that’s what He wants, don’t you think you’d better stay?” “Yes, I think I should!”

Taking new courage and refusing to look back, the evangelist went on to ‘plow a straight furrow for God.’


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