I have this water bottle with encouragements at intervals to keep you drinking. The one close to the end is ‘never give up’. Every day I encounter times when I feel close to admitting defeat. As you may feel in different ways, it can be a challenge to keep going. At those points, we desperately need to hear the words, ‘don’t give up’. So I’m saying them to you now.

Life often feels like we’re on a heavy treadmill, or walking through quicksand. I was on a running machine last week. It did not work with my weak legs. They went back as the rest of me held on for dear life. I laughed it off but, to be honest, it was not funny. Life is like that, going too fast, impossible to keep up with. Do you ever feel like that? We all need someone to be in step with us, to encourage us.

For me, it is Jesus. He said ‘Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.’ *. If that doesn’t work for you, try and get alongside someone else and urge them to not give up. For me, that is what a good friend should do.

Imagine I was beside you right now. If I was there, I would be saying ‘don’t give up’, no matter what life throws at you, no matter how fast the treadmill goes or how thick the quicksand feels. You are not alone. Someone is walking beside you.

*Matthew 11,28