Quit? Nuts to That!

There is a great story from WWII about General Anthony Clement McAuliffe. McAuliffe commanded the 101^st Airborne Division when his unit found themselves surrounded by the Nazi Army in Bastogne, Belgium during the battle we know now as the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans sent over a message demanding surrender as they were confident the 101^st was about to go down in defeat and to fight was pretty much hopeless. McAuliffe sent back a one word response that simply said this, “Nuts!” The following day thanks to a change in the weather that allowed air support in and the arrival of Patton’s troops from the south resulted in a victory that would help assure the defeat of the Nazis.

Do you feel like giving up? Sometimes life becomes a siege and it’s as if the enemy has us surrounded. Defeat stares at you from every side. Each of us faces our own evil axis and at the core of that axis is the commander of evil itself, Satan. It doesn’t matter what our battle is. Maybe it’s addiction. Or depression. Or finances. Or a child dealing with these issues. Maybe it’s even your own spouse. So you want to give up.

The Bible says don’t. The Bible says “Nuts!” to the devil and his evil schemes. The Word of God never says give up. Instead it says let go and give it to Jesus. Jesus tells us this in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Christian brothers and sisters know this; we are at war. Some 285 times God is referred to as Jehovah Sabaoth, otherwise known in our language as Lord of Hosts and the simple translation of this is The Lord of Armies.

Many of us know the feeling of battle as we fight with the issues of life that threaten our lives, our families, our marriages, and our walk with God. But the battle does not truly lie in the physical aspects of the battle. The drugs, the pornography, the alcohol, or whatever physical problems fight us are not really where the battle lies. The real war is spiritual and is being fought in spiritual realms and places. The worst of the pain is happening within our souls, for that is what is truly at stake. Ephesians 6:12 is clear. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” But don’t be fooled we are at war.

In truth most Christians understand that Jesus has already won the war; He won it on the cross and in the resurrection. But the battles remain to be fought until He returns to wrap things up. And the battles are hard. So we must not quit.

We cannot quit on ourselves. We are going to fail at times. We are going to fall down. But we must remember the words of Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.”

We cannot quit on others. If God’s mercies are new every day so must ours be. People are going to fail us. They will let us down. They will hurt us and even sin against us. But the Word of God commands us in 1 Peter 4:8 to “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Don’t quit on people; love them.

We cannot quit on God. Sometimes we get impatient. We think He has not heard our prayers. He has. But as Isaiah 40:31 reminds us it is “they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Don’t quit. Call on the name of Jesus and stand firm. When the enemy surrounds you and yells out for your surrender, don’t quit. Respond with one simple word: NUTS! Then rest in Christ.