No Place To Quit!

by Dr. Don Sisk

The wife of the prophet Ezekiel died. The morning before her death, Ezekiel had prophesied to the people. The day after the death of his wife, Ezekiel said, “… and I did in the morning as I was commanded.”

God has given me a wonderful Christian, godly woman to be my wife. Virginia and I were married at a very early age. Thus, we have gone through many varied experiences of married life together. In every situation she has exceeded any expectation that I could have ever had for a wife. I thank God for her quiet, meek spirit and her wonderful work ethic that have been examples for many young ladies through the years. I cannot imagine anything that would disrupt my service to God any more than the death of my wife. I often pray to God that we will be raptured together rather than for either of us to have to face the death of the other.

We know very little about the wife of Ezekiel. We have to assume that being the wife of the prophet, she was a godly woman. Ezekiel must have loved her; however, immediately after her death, we find him continuing in the God-given responsibility committed to him. He was the watchman of the house of Israel. He was to hear the Word of God and speak to the people.

In the past 25 years I have spoken in over 1000 churches around the world. Incidents are always arising to disrupt the ministry of the local church and God-called servants. It is a sad commentary, that when many people face adverse circumstances, they quit. I often say to people, “It is always too early to quit.” The great difference between winners and losers is not that winners never fail — they do. There will always be failures in any endeavor. The difference between winners and losers is that winners never quit.

After giving a great dissertation about the resurrection, the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15:58 exhorted the Corinthian Christians, “… be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord for, as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

The Christians at Corinth, as well as the Christians who are living in the 20th century, need this exhortation. Somewhere in the course of our ministry either, as an individual, local church or other Christian organization there will come times that will cause the faint of heart to quit. There will be financial reverses and domestic problems. Sin will raise its ugly head to disrupt the work of God, and unjust criticism will be heaped upon godly people. The devil accuses God’s people, and God allows us to be tried to prove our steadfastness. These situations will come. The determining factor as to how we respond to these adverse circumstances will be our steadfast determination to stay in the work of God regardless of the situation.

In recent years, Baptist International Missions, Inc., has experienced unprecedented growth in every area of our mission. We have been blessed indeed; however, within our organization there are many, many people who are facing adverse circumstances. Even in the midst of blessings and great growth, we must remember to pray one for another and to be certain that all of the praise and all of the honor and all of the glory for everything goes to our great God.

Because of my position with BIMI, I am involved in situations where great trials exist. One of the great privileges of my life has been to be an encourager in these situations. Just recently, God allowed me to be in a such a position. God, through the preaching of His Word and the opportunity to minister to individuals, gave some great victories. I know of no greater joy than to be used of God to be a blessing to others. When I have these opportunities, I am reminded of the passage in II Corinthians 1:3-4 where the Apostle Paul said, “Blessed be God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”

As I look back over some of the seemingly devastating circumstances that God has allowed me to go through, I realize that God was preparing me to be a comforter of others.

Ezekiel must have wept. There must have been a time of mourning. However, he was determined, regardless of what happened, to continue doing what God had commissioned him to do. We cannot correct all of the circumstances of the past. If there is sin, we must confess it; if restitution is needed, we must be quick to rectify; however, there is no place to quit.

No circumstance is ever so bleak and devastating that it cannot be corrected. Change is always possible. Circumstances are never quite as good or quite as bad as they appear. With God’s help we need to just keep on keeping on.