Best of 2024: When You Didn't Give Up

Published Dec 27, 2024, 9:00 PM

It's a "Best of" conversation that will encourage you if you feel like you want to give up. Listeners responded in February to Chris' question about when they didn't give up at a frustrating job or trying to fix something that seemed unfixable. You have to hear the encouragement of one mom to other moms. When you didn't give up—don't miss Chris Fabry Live.

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You didn't give up. You refused to give up. What is your story? In February of this year on Chris Baber Live, we had a conversation we're going to come back to right now on the last Friday of 2024. I think this is a great way to end the year, and this is geared to encourage someone who is ready to give up. Is that you? Are you discouraged because things are really hard right now? The stories you're going to hear today might be the catalyst that helps you persevere. I have a voicemail that I want to play for you. This is one of those programs generated by a listener who heard something that struck a nerve, and they had to call. And I want you to think about your life as you listen. Maybe in your childhood you were looking for something lost and you didn't give up. Maybe at work somebody brought a car in that wouldn't run. And instead of saying, we can't fix this, you stayed with it. You figured it out. Maybe the coach said to you, you are never going to play in this league. You will hear some. I'm glad I didn't give up stories today, but do not call us. Our programs are recorded. Disregard any dated information. Let me thank our team. Working behind the scenes Ryan McConaughey is doing all things technical. Tricia is our producer. And since it's Friday. That's right. It's time for the fabulous Faber Friday. Cy, what does it do, Chris? One, we oxygenate your blood. Two, we get your endorphins going. Three we raise your serotonin level. Four we promote lymphatic drainage. And five, we stimulate your parasympathetic system. That's why we call it the five love languages. We also stimulate your vagus nerve. We help you release acetylcholine. And don't forget what it does to cortisol dissipation. Take in four seconds of air through your nose. Hold it for seconds, and then as you release that air through your mouth, push on the left side of your rib cage to get rid of all that bad carbon dioxide. Today, let's give a sigh for the times you didn't give up. When you're trying to master that piece on the piano or the violin, and you wanted to throw the sheet music across the room, and maybe you did, but you went over, picked it up, and learned it all because you didn't give up when your pet was sick and it seemed like the end, but you didn't give up. And Little Fluffy got up and is still running around the yard today. When the assignment from school was so tough, you thought, I'll just take a zero, but you hung in there and you turned it in. Today's fabulous Fabric Friday Size, brought to you by the society for the Preservation of Perseverance. All rights reserved. Void where prohibited. No musical pieces were harmed in today's Friday. Sigh. For me, it was Fury lease. I could get the first page. I could get this part of Ludwig's notes, but the section at the bottom where you turn the page. I was just in a state of confusion. This is it. I couldn't get it, I just couldn't I just couldn't get that. And then the next section that comes in the. Da da da da da da. And I'd just go back to playing the. I could never play it like that either. There's just no way. Thank you. Ryan. Ryan McConaughey on the piano. On the Steinway. When you see something good in people. When you see something in nature, in the world around us, you see a reflection of the creator. When you see a mother gently cradle her child, or a father pick up a son or daughter and let that child ride on his shoulders, it is a glimpse of the care of the nurture of the love that God has given us. When you see the creativity in nature, when you see the color, when you see the extravagant diversity of the flamingo and the hippo, the giraffe and the platypus, and they always call, they don't just call them platypus, a duck billed. You got to put the duck bill in there. This is not an accident. This is not just the product of millions of years of chance. This is design. And it shows the creativity of God. And if you disagree with me about that, it's all right. You can be my friend. I see it in the design of cities. You look at a city skyline and the creativity it took to build all of that. It is a grace. It is a mercy from above, worked out through architects and planners and builders and an awful lot of concrete. I also believe when you see people stick to something, though, it would be easier to walk away when you see them suffer along with some task, or when they are so committed to a person that they don't leave. Don't stop. What you are seeing is a reflection of the heart of God who is long suffering, who is persevering, who is ever faithful. Remember the friends of the paralytic who opened the roof above Jesus and let him down so that he could be healed. They didn't give up. Aren't you glad Israel crowded in there? Well, it's. The crowd's too big. Can't get through. No. Let's go up to the roof. We heard last Monday Jerry Edgar was with us. He's been a quadriplegic since 1983. And he said on the program for the last 19 years. His wife did it for a lot of years. But for the last 19 years, he's had a team of men who have come to his house at five in the morning to get him up every day, prep him for the day and unleash him into the world so that he can teach young people. Isn't that good? Aren't you glad they haven't given up? So here's my question to you today. When did you refuse to give up? Maybe others told you to, but there was something inside that says, no, let's keep going. And I want to start with the common, everyday ordinary giving up. It's shoveling the snow, for example. You get to a certain point, it's like, yeah, this is too hard, I can't. And there's something inside. I said, no, I'm going to finish this. Trying to fix something like a snow blower. So if your snow blower breaks, you either fix it or you shovel. Maybe you had some kind of complicated project. A thousand piece puzzle. Those vexed me to no end. I put this question up on Facebook. You felt like giving up, but you didn't. What were you doing? Fixing your car? Sewing a complicated pattern. Hunting. Fishing. What is your. I'm glad I didn't give up story. And Anna was one of the first to respond. And she said painting. I started painting with oils about 18 months ago. I wanted to give up, but I kept at it. And now I've sold multiple paintings and she includes one there on the website. You can see it on our Facebook page if you go to Chris Fabric archive.org. So I'd love to get your feedback there or call me with your I didn't give up story. And again, somebody who's listening today needs to hear your story because they're in the middle of something that they are tempted to give up. And maybe your story is going to be the catalyst. It's going to be the the thing, the exact thing that they need to hear right here. And this is a good time for me to say our program today is recorded. Don't call any phone number that you hear, but you can go to the website Chris Fabry live.org. We'd love to have you support what we do at the back fence. Great day to do that. Just go to Chris Fabry live.org. More encouragement is straight ahead on Moody Radio.

You didn't give up.

Tell me your story today at the radio backyard fence. This is Chris Fabry. Live. Welcome. And to a Friday conversation where we get to know each other a little bit better. Judy said. I don't know, Judy, how you could just say this one little sentence with so much meaning. I didn't give up. I searched for and found my daughter, who was adopted 33 years ago. There's a lot of story and a lot of life behind that. I didn't give up. How about you? Jordan is in Vermont. Jordan, you didn't give up. Tell me about it.

Hey, Chris. Glad to be on. I was, I think, about 13 years old and playing in the hockey championship game, but I got the flu the night before. And it was, uh, it was an overtime game, and we'd been playing so long, they had to extend it to two overtimes. Now our team only had like ten people on it, so one person missing versus the 20 on the other side was going to make a big difference. So I pushed through the whole night, didn't sleep. You know, all the unpleasantness that comes with the flu. And we ended up playing the game. It went into double overtime. I was exhausted still, you know, vomiting on the bench, uh, and just suffering, but knowing that we had to win. Towards the third period, we went into the locker room and I turned to my dad. I'm like, I can't do it, I got nothing. I'm. I'm dying, you know? I'm 13. I'm dying. So I go outside to get some fresh air, and I see this girl on the other team jumping up and down and yelling, we're gonna win! We're gonna win! Taunting to the.

Whole.

Crowd and I turned around. I walked back in that room. I looked at my dad. I'm like, there's no way I'm leaving. Let's go. We're going to do this. And I actually ended up assisting three of the goals and scoring one of them, and the one, this one girl who wasn't very good at skating on our team but stuck through the whole season. Anyway, I ended up passing it to her and she scored the winning goal. That was her first goal ever. We won the championship game.

Perfect. I was going to tell Ryan to do that. Uh, so how long ago was that? Jordan? Is that like ten years ago? 20 years ago?

It was about 20 years ago. Yeah.

Okay.

And you still can feel the feeling of walking outside there and see the taunting and, you know, no, I got to see this through. And that my guess is that that has followed you through your life that you know in your whatever you're doing, what your workaday world and your your life from now on, you remember that there's something about that that sticks with you, right?

Oh, Amen. Absolutely. It's carried me through a lot of a lot of rather tough times. Yes. Yeah.

I'm glad. What was the name of the team? What was your mascot?

Well, we didn't have a mascot. We were very small school, but we played, uh, for Milton. I guess we could call it that, but it was, uh, peewee peewee league.

The peewee league. I love it. I love it that you called in Jordan. God bless you, friend. Um, let's go to Chicago. And is it? Let's see. Is this a man? That's all I can see. Amen. Hey, man, go right ahead. Amen. Ah, yeah. Okay, now I learned something new today. Yeah.

Yes, it's it's Hebrew and it's a derivative of amen, which means faithful one.

And you spell it. How do you spell it?

It's spelled a m o n a m o.

I've never seen that or I've seen it and I've thought of Amman. But that's obviously not how to say it.

Yeah, well, you can pronounce it Amman, but I pronounce it. Amen.

And who gave you that name?

My mother.

Ah.

Well, my mother, she actually lived in Israel for some time.

Well, there's something that you you didn't give up on Amman, and I want to hear about it.

Okay, so when I, I'm a Chicago firefighter, and when I was in the academy, they was working us out real hard, like the second week, something like that. and I was ready to give up and and just when I was about to give up. I thought, um, what am I going to tell my wife and kids that I quit my job? And after that, I didn't give up. And after that it got much harder. But that thought never came in my head again. And so I'm so glad I didn't give up. And I really enjoy being a firefighter.

Yeah, well. And so it was a motivation for you to think of them. It's like, no, I'm going to that dad. You know, you're the husband and dad. I'm going to stick this out, right?

Yeah, yeah. Because, uh, well, my wife, she's an at home mom and I'm the breadwinner. And I had quit my job to take this particular job. And, you know, you just don't go home and say, yeah, I quit my job. No way.

What is the what's hard about being a firefighter? What's the what's the what's the hardest thing that you have to go through? A lot of the guys that I've talked with and ladies to now, but a lot of the guys have said it's just the the hours you got to, you got to live there for a time and be off. But and you never know what's coming up. What is it for you?

The hardest thing for me is to see, um, when children get hurt really bad and sometimes killed. That's absolutely the worst part of the job. So the, um, you know, the all the hours and up at midnight, that's difficult. But I kind of just sing or have a good time or just try to just bring joy to what I'm doing to make it. It don't make it easy, but it make it easier. Yes, but, um, but when I see, um, you know, when a child get hurt or killed or. That's like the absolute worst. That's when you see grown men cry.

Yeah.

And it stays with you. And it's, you know, some people can leave their work at, at, at the job site and you can't because it, it makes an impact on you inside. Aman, thank you for your service. First of all, and thanks for being with us today. This is going to encourage somebody. Jeannie in Georgia. Hi, Jeannie. Go right ahead.

Well, hello. Uh, thank you for taking my call. I'm calling because I, um, was a 42 year old mom and had my son. Um, my husband and he, uh, decided to homeschool him. And, you know, you have a lot of, um, questions and fears and uncertainties about doing this. And I was doing really well till we got to algebra. And so I guess I want to encourage people not to give up when they get to subjects that seem like you just can't do. You don't know anything about it. You forgot it. You have fear of math, those type of things, um, that you push through. You look at different things and you have to realize, if you love your child so much and your child can do so much more than you think they can, and so don't give up. And I encourage people who are homeschooling that that is really through prayer. With God's help. You can do this with your child if it's your heart's desire. Yes.

Have you learned more than your kids have learned?

Uh, it's just an education all the way through it, because I didn't learn that much in the public school system. And by the way, my son just graduated with a BS degree and he is summa cum laude.

Wow.

If you know what that means, it's a 4.0 all through college and it warms my heart because he did it. I mean, I was just guiding him along with the Lord and just so very proud.

But yeah, but you were part of it. You were part of it. And you gave him that.

You gave it, you know, and it was your excitement coming to it each day along with his participation with you. So that's, you know, when he walked across there and the tassel and all that, that you're you're a part of that and I'm sure the whole family too. Right.

Right. And it's you can't see it any other way, but just a gift from God, a blessing from God that God has given you the child, the children. And when you can put your whole heart into it and educate them in all ways. It's such an incredible blessing. Yeah.

Oh, I'm glad you got through, Jeannie, because there's some homeschooling mom or dad who's listening, who says, okay, I'm going to I'm going one more day. One more day. We're going to go through this. Uh, Dave is in Cleveland, Ohio. Dave, tell me about what you didn't give up on.

What I what I didn't give up on. Chris was snowboarding and with, uh. With what? Jeannie was just talking about homeschooling. We were homeschooling at the time. We were. This was 1996. We were homeschooling. I had two older kids, and our gym class was going out to the resort and having skiing and snowboarding. So my son, he talks me into snowboarding and after three weeks I hurt so bad. I fell so many times just because I wasn't a good, good student. And I told him, man, I'm done. I got to quit. He looks at me and goes, huh? I didn't know my dad was a quitter. And I said, what? He goes, well, you always make us do a whole season of something before you let us quit. And I'm like, really? Oh, I was so upset with him. But I said, fine. And now, 26 years later, I still snowboard. I have instructed snowboarding for 23 seasons.

Wow, wow. All because of the challenge, right?

All because of the challenge of my son saying, oh, I didn't know my dad was a quitter. So yeah, it was all because of that. And I've been able to use that platform. Um, you know, my first ride up on the lift in the morning, if I'm riding with an instructor, I'll pray with them. And, um, you know, I'm out there. I just encourage students who, you know, are really frustrated because they're not getting it. You know, I can encourage them, keep them happy. And yeah, it's been a fun platform to have. And the Lord has blessed me through it. And I want to. Yeah, I got two more years before, uh, I probably quit, so haha.

Dave, that is.

I I've been wanting to do a program, so Ryan Mark this. I've been wanting to do a program on when your own advice came back to you. Because I saw somebody talk about that, you know, uh, not long ago online, and it was your words to your kids, they parrot them back to you. And not only did they say it, but you listened to it. You responded to it. Uh, that's a great story. God bless you, friend. Thank you. This is Chris Fabry live on Moody Radio. Just had something really interesting happen. There was this hailstorm that came through where I am. You may have heard some noise in the background. Around. And there's this just this gorgeous white out on the. In Arizona, we don't have a whole lot of of grass in the yard unless you plant it and water it. So it's just, you know, brown out there, but it's all white. There's something going on here with this program too. When you didn't say when you didn't give up, you didn't run away from it. And I love this. Natasha is in Akron, Ohio. Natasha, tell me what happened to you.

Hello, Chris. Um, interestingly enough, it actually pertains to what you said. You like to do a program on, um, with parroting back information to parents. Um, in this situation, I was the parent. Not so much the parents. Um, but today I had a conversation with my mother. Um, and it started off as, like, a regular conversation. Um, she was kind of talking to me about some grievances that she had had with my, um, aunt and my nana and like just kind of giving me some information about some things that she was going through. And it led way to a conversation for us to have about our relationship. And in that conversation, I was able to give her some information based on what she had said to me about how she felt concerning my nana or my grandmother, you know, and their relationship. And like I was telling your assistant, oftentimes when I would talk to my mom, when I talk to my mom, I get really frustrated because things may get, you know, frustrating or tensions get high, conversation gets a little heated. And typically in that moment, I'm willing to be done. Like, I give up. I'm like, you know what? This isn't worth it. I don't want to argue. I don't want to be upset. I don't want to be hurt all over again, you know? And so usually what I would do is I would just kind of get really quiet, um, but in this situation, because as of lately I've been kind of reading in the word where. Confrontation isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it's necessary, you know? Um, and so I said, okay, I'm not going to just walk away like I normally would. And so I sat and we continued the conversation. And at the end of the conversation today, we were able to come to a mutual place. We were able to hug. We were able to, you know, apologize to each other. We were able to have mutual respect for each other, um, as both a mothers and as children because like at the end of the day, even though my mom is my mom, she's also a child, like she's someone's child, if that makes sense. Um, and I was able to see her as such today. I was able to see the daughter in her and not just the mother. And I think she was able to see the mother in me and not just her daughter. And so I'm really, really glad that I stuck it out, even though it was very uncomfortable.

Bingo.

But how so? The question is then how? At what point did you decide, you know, you were going to walk away like you normally do? And I get that. I very much an avoider of conflict. I love, you know, I've got to do something, you know, really important here. I got to go get the mail, you know, or find something to do. How did you how did you talk yourself into staying?

Well, what I did was, is literally I sat there and I was like, well, God, I need your help. Could you give me peace? So I began to pray, um, and my mom was still kind of saying some things, and I made a decision to listen, not as her daughter to what she was saying, but listen as a fellow woman and how these things that she was saying would make me feel if she weren't saying to them, saying them to me, as in our relationship, if that makes sense. Yes. And it was the first time, like I said, I actually saw my mother as a daughter as opposed to my mom. And I don't know how to make that, like, make sense fully.

No, you did it. And where would our world be? Where would world leaders be? You know, if you get there or just in family or churches, where would we be if we could get to the point where I'm not just seeing you as an adversary or somebody who disagrees with me, and so I need to walk away from you. But seeing you really getting a God's eye view of you with all of your experiences and all the struggles, I think what you've done here, Natasha, is, is give us a vision for something more in relationship. This happened the other day. We still have two of our adult sons living with us, and they were into this thing, and I heard it from my office, and I went out and went out and looked, and my wife was sitting in the chair, and she's just got, you know, a cup of tea and listening. And instead of engaging and trying to help out, we just let it go. And it was the most beautiful thing to hear them reconcile and to talk through the thing. It got heated, but it was beautiful at the same time. And we have more of these stories that I think are going to encourage you wherever you are coming up straight ahead here on Chris Fabry Live and Moody Radio. Did you hear Ron Hutchcraft on the program yesterday? I got an email after the program. Listen to this, Carolyn said. I'll be listening to that Ron Hutchcraft program again and again. I cried through the whole thing. So powerful, especially the last caller who was so captivated by the Titanic story. Thanks, Chris. Thanks, Ron Sommer called about this time yesterday and this is what she said.

I had the radio on and I was kind of not paying attention. It was like on the background. Um, and then I heard the thing about the Titanic, and I've loved Titanic since I was a little kid, so it kind of piqued my interest. And when you gave the analogy about the lifeboats, it really spoke to me because I have been allowing fear and anxiety and insecurity to keep me from turning my life around, to keep me from talking to other people about God and what Jesus has done for me. And so it just really spoke to me, and I wanted you to know that, um, because I really can't get it out of my, my heart right now. Um, just how many times I have not turned my life around, and I don't want to do that anymore.

Do you hear the resolve in there? I think that is evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in somebody's life. Not just the emotion, the emotions part of it, but I want my life to count. I want to do something. Ron Hutchcraft was with us this past year, and on that day we were talking about his book, A Life That Matters. And I have a similar book in front of me right now. That is our thank you to anybody who supports the ministry of Chris Fabry live before the end of the year. And that window is closing. So jump through the window. No, don't jump through a window. Call us. Click through, because I would love to send you a copy of How to Finish the Christian Life Following Jesus in the second half. If you are anywhere near the second half, you know, run late 30s, early 40s on, I think this book by Doctor George Sweeting and his son, doctor Don Sweeting, will help you. We lost Doctor Sweeting just before his 100th birthday this year, and his wife Hilda then followed him. Not long after that, we talked with Don about the the loss of his mom and dad and the legacy that they have left. And if you want to leave that similar kind of legacy, dig into this book How to Finish the Christian Life. You know, people who didn't finish well, the wheels kind of came off of their faith toward the end. That does not have to happen. And this book will help give a gift of any size. Today at 86695438669532279 or go to Chris Fabry live.org. Scroll down. You'll see the book right there How to Finish the Christian Life and you'll support what we do at the back fence. Just go to Chris Fabry live. George Lynn is in Akron, Ohio.

Hi. So I've been a Christian my whole life. Um, I I've been raised in a Christian home, but for a while, for a lot of years, like a long time, I looked around at the people who went to our church and all of the Christians I knew. Um, and I heard everyone just talk all the time about how God was doing so much in their lives, and the grace that they've been given was just so abundant. And, um, people who were just always getting prayers answered. And even though I was just a kid, I really wanted to serve God and I wanted to be close to him. And I was always so confused and I felt like I was doing something wrong, but I didn't know what. But, um, a couple of years later, I realized that God wasn't really in the center of my life. I was just kind of pushing him to the sidelines. I called myself a Christian, but I wasn't really doing the things I needed to do and praying frequently, so I was wondering why I was just spiritually dry. Um, but a couple of years ago, I developed a couple chronic illnesses and started having a lot of medical issues, and I finally just entirely surrendered to Jesus. And he absolutely brought me to my knees. And I realized how much I need him and how much I need to rely on him. And I grew a lot closer to him after that and have continued to, because I've become very vulnerable now, and I feel I felt vulnerable dealing with these health issues and I'm still going through it. But I used to think that I was just a kid, like, I'm just a kid. I'm too young. God can't use me. Um, the thing that he's going to have me do in my life, like my purpose, is probably going to happen later. I can't serve him now, even though I really wanted to. But now I've realized I shouldn't give up. And I haven't given up because this has. This situation has really given me the opportunity to serve him better and tell people about what he's doing. Even though what I'm going through is might be hard.

Yeah. Bingo.

Oh, Lynn. And you called and told us about it, too. See, that's the other thing. There are so many people who are listening right now. And I think you're still a teenager, right?

Yeah.

There's so many people who are twice or 3 or 15 times older than you. I mean, you're not 15, but a lot older than you. Who would who would not pick up the phone and say that? But you as a teenager, saying, here's what God's brought me through. And no, here's what he's brought me to and what he's brought me through, and there's no other way than to go through it with him. God is using you right here, right now. You don't have to get a degree. You don't have to go through, you know, 20 years of whatever struggle you're going to you're doing right now. God is using you right where you are. And that's encouraging. Paul talks about don't let anyone look down on you for because of your age. Don't allow them to do that. But be an example Ample for those that are around you. You've done that today. And my guess is that your. That's a paraphrase, by the way. My guess is that your parents are looking on at this and they are real encouraging of all of all that you're, you're dealing with. Is that true?

Yeah. There's been a couple of frightening times, but yeah.

Yeah, I bet there's.

A lot more to the story. Lynn God bless you, friend. Thank you for your vulnerability, your honesty. See, that's what happens when we talk about, you know, when you didn't give up, you get to a different level of life. And I think we're going to get there with Steve as well. Steve joined the party. Go right ahead.

Shalom aleichem. Brother Chris, how are you?

Thank you. Doing well friend.

It's good. I am that Steve, by the way. And I'm sure you know that, um, I was about to give up on life. Uh, lost.

My.

Wife.

17 days short of one year ago and I just had it. I was mad. I thought, God, there's no use for me anymore. My partner's gone. You know, life's pretty much over. The kids are all grown. Grandkids are out there. They're like, out in the country, uh, different states. I mean, and so I thought, you know, they're all going to do well, they're all going to do fine without me and just, you know, take me home, Lord. Uh, let's end this, and I'm finished. And the Lord told me, he says, well, I'm not finished with you. And I said, Lord, I'm a I'm a senior citizen. I'm up there. He goes, you're a baby. He says, why do you think I call you my child every time we talk? He says, my child. And he says, I'm not finished with you. And he says, therefore you're not finished. He said, you cannot finish yourself. That will lead you into some big trouble. And he says, when I'm done with you, you'll be home with me. And that's when you can hang it up, so to speak. Uh, he said there's old people still have ministries. They still have missions in this life. Um, the, uh, you know, and it's not just my wife. I went through this spell where a lot of my family were checking out and not by choice. Okay. Lost an uncle. Lost a grandmother. Lost. Grandfather. Mother. Dad. Brother. Baby. And now my wife. And so I look at this and I think, wow. Uh, you know, Lord, what's left? I mean, it's kind of like getting down to just me. And so I started reminiscing the other night. As a matter of fact, I was going through a trunk of pictures, old pictures from years ago and current pictures and things like that. And as I started going through them, I started remembering. And, uh, you know, I just I found a purpose, I guess I went beyond the biblical frame of of of mourning. Uh, one year is what I'm going up to. But I still see a purpose in all of this. And I'm still God shows me little things where I'll do things for somebody or something. And, uh, you know, I think, well, anybody could have done that, Lord. I mean, anybody could have done that. And. But it ends up being. No, they couldn't have done that. You had to do that.

Yes.

Uh, learning a lot of lessons throughout all this, um, don't really have a direction other than for the Lord, because that's all that's left for me. I no earthly father. So he's my father. He always has been. Uh, no wife. Uh, so, yeah, I, uh, it's an interesting concept, but, you know, you go through all these phases with death and then death upon death, upon death upon death. And you keep going through all these phases, Then you look at yourself and you say, listen, I'm old. There's no purpose for me anymore. And you hear, you know, you read things in the papers about, you know, these people are trying to talk people into. If you serve no purpose, you're no good. And if you're no good, why be around? You're just wasting time and space and energy and everything else, so to speak. But, uh. No, he he. I looked over my shoulder and I saw all the things I've done in the past since coming to him. Uh, came to him when I was 27 years old. And what I mean by that is I was born and raised in a phenomenal church setting, and, uh, but that wasn't God. I didn't have God back then. And I met God in 1980, um, and gave my life to him. Got baptized, uh, one day later, one day after water baptism, I received the spirit baptism, the Holy Ghost baptism. And, uh, it was going along really good. I mean, it was it was phenomenal. Whatever I'd ask God, God would do it because I was new, you know, I was just a baby. And I'd ask him, I want to do this. I want to do that. Uh, I asked him one time, I said, Lord, give me more money. And now this is where the flesh kind of comes in. But I said, Lord, give me more money than I've ever had in my life. And he did. But you know how he did it. My dad passed away, and my dad and I just kind of hit and miss throughout life. He wasn't there because my parents divorced when I was just an infant. But during all that time, he squirreled away everything he had. Uh, minus his bills and stuff like that. So I get a call from a lawyer, and I go in to see what's going on, and dad left a whole lot of money, just like I asked God for it. Would I want my dad back and give back the money? Absolutely. I would rather have my dad. I don't care about the money, but that's how it got accomplished. My dad was up there in age. Time for him to go, uh, you know, And it's just every time I turn around God's, they're either correcting me, guiding me, directing me, doing things for me, and showing me that one I can't survive without him. Two, that there's more to life than meets the eye, even at my age, and that there are people still out there. Yeah, nowadays they don't listen as much as they used to. Uh, but you can you can still crack a hard nut, and, uh.

Well, you didn't give up, Steve.

You know, and that that's the whole point of this. He's still working on you. You're you're a work in progress. He who began that work in you is faithful to complete it, and you want to be faithful to that. And I know your wife would say the same thing. You know that she would. You would say. She would say that as well. I think you have spoken today for a lot of people who are maybe in your age group, and I don't know exactly what your age group is, but this feeling of being on the outside, looking in and wondering, what use do I have? Because I don't have this title anymore and I don't do that and I don't do that. We're going to do a series of programs on wisdom from people a little bit further down the trail. In this year. I'm working on it. I'm working on getting them to to come on with us. And I'm going to mention your call and your heart here. Thank you for sharing it. There's somebody who needed to hear your voice today, and there's going to be some folks who are praying for Steve and the loss, the continual grieving process, and for him to hang on and not give up more straight ahead on Moody Radio. Thanks for joining us today for this best of broadcast on Chris Fabry Live. When you didn't give up is our topic. And right there at the end, I mentioned something that I was working on, you know, having some older guests on the program, Voices of Wisdom is what it became. You're going to hear some of those voices of wisdom next week as we continue our best of 2024 here at the Back fence. The other thing that I've told you throughout this last year is the Ministry of Care net. They are not giving up on pro-life issues, and they'd love for you to be a part of the Abundant Life Prayer Network. Carenet believes prayer is not a substitute for action, but an action for which there is no substitute. And they are mobilizing prayer warriors right now. Here at the end of the year, when you become a part of that network, you'll be part of a community supporting women and men who are facing pregnancy decisions and obviously praying for protection for those babies. Join the Abundant Life Prayer Network today. Click the green connect button at Chris Fabry live.org. I guarantee you you're going to be encouraged by the work that they are doing, and they will be encouraged by your prayer support. Click the green connect button at Chris Fabry Live Dawg. The whole reason I wanted to do this program, and I haven't even played the the voicemail. We were doing a program. I think it was January the 23rd, and it was for those who parents who had children recently be incarcerated. How do you get through that? And it was one of the best programs all year long. And we've you know, we're 32 days into the 33 into the year. But after that program, I got this voicemail.

Hi. I just wanted to share that my son has been in and out of jails first a boys boy's home and then jail and then prison. Since the age of 12. And he is currently in a prison. Yeah. In and out. And he has maybe a couple more years to go. But I just want to encourage those parents, you know, whose hearts are broken over. You know, just the decisions that their children have made to never give up hope, never give up for a while, even though my church knew about the situation and several people, it was so hard for me. You know what in the devil would really beat me up? And I, you know, would question myself about what have I done? You know, what could I have done differently? And surely we're not perfect parents, you know. But I believe that most parents, you know, try to do the best thing in that moment for their children. He was raised under a single parent, which was me. But God had to really just teach me and and to let me know that it had nothing to do with me. I had him in sports, you know, all everything in church. We were in church all the time. But he made the decisions that he made. It was his choice even at that young age of 12. And so the best thing as parents that we can do for our children is to just continue to pray for them. You know, put them before the Lord, give them to the Lord and just, you know, press in and be the prayer person and the gap for them that their lives will be turned around. Even though he's still in prison, I see some changes. He has a young daughter and he's telling her things that I used to tell him. So don't ever give up on your child. God loves them and he loved us to get us where we are, and he still is. So, you know, just be prayerful there. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. And even though we're praying for our children and the gaps. So thank you for listening to me.

It was a pleasure to hear her heart, and it's why I wanted to do this program, and I'm so glad you've responded today. I don't know the situation you're in. I never know that. God knows. And I see folks who are calling from around the country and say, and Yvonne, I'm sorry we didn't get to you. I'm glad I didn't give up on my marriage. And there are others that are talking about some really deep things, and they have in this hour. I was reading Luke 18 the other day. Then Jesus told his disciples a parable. And this is one of the places where Scripture shows us. This is why he told the parable. He told a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Or another translation says. Or not become discouraged. Are you discouraged today or are you like Steve? You know what's the purpose here? Why am I here? What am I going through? Or is there something that you want to walk away from and and you're feeling that nudge know? Hang in there. Allow God to speak into your heart to pray and not give up and see what he does in you and through you. God bless you friend. Have a great weekend. Come on back Monday for Chris Fabry live production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

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Chris Fabry Live is designed to build up the spiritual immune system of the Christian men and woman. 
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