Sabbath Thought – Never Give In

World War II lasted from 1939-1945 for Britain. They ended up being the only nation standing against Germany until the United States entered the war in December 1941. During the war in Britain, the Prime Minister was Winston Churchill, and in his public interaction with the citizens he regularly spoke of hope and of having a vision of winning the war.

On October 29, 1941, Churchill visited his alma mater, Harrow School (what we would call a private high school). He gave yet another speech to motivate and boost the morale of the faculty, students and staff. His address was a call to resilience in the face of the unrelenting aggression of the enemy. While Britain's situation had improved since his last visit, he urged his audience to brace for short and difficult, as well as long and tough battles. Churchill urged patience, resilience, and conviction in the face of adversity, stating, "Never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty."

Churchill’s address to the school more than fulfilled his goal of motivating and boosting the morale of those there that day. So moving and powerful were his words that his speech spread throughout the nation and around the world. This message given by Churchill is considered one of the greatest motivational messages of all time. It is because the encouragement is timeless.

We can apply Churchill’s motivation in so many ways. Certainly, it can be applied in difficult times, as we can read in another motivational quote given by Churchill – “If you are going through hell, keep going.” His point is that bad circumstances will not change much if you stay where you are. Move forward until you are out of them. We can be encouraged in our spiritual walk along this line by remembering God also promises us that He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5 and about six other verses) – no matter how bad things seem to us.

But we can also spiritually apply Churchill’s comment about never giving up by simply staying the course – by remaining faithful to our calling until our death or Christ’s return (1 Thessalonians 4:15). Never giving up, in a spiritual context, is nothing flashy, certainly not complicated, and simply requires the dedication and vision to be in God’s family no matter what comes our way in this life. One foot in front of the other, repeated day in and day out. As an example, I have written about 859 Sabbath Thoughts since 2006 and given more than 400 sermons since I was ordained in 1997. That was never a plan of mine, but simply a way I could, as a minister of Jesus Christ, help point members of His Body to Him.

What are you doing to “never give up”? Whatever we are doing, if we stick with it, God will see the pattern of our work and desire to be in His Kingdom and – “…will render to each one according to his deeds; eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality,” (Romans 2:6-7).

"Never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty."

I wish you a very meaningful Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

15 February, 2025