Bible Verses of The Day: Friday, January 23, 2026

Today’s Focus: Finding Strength When You Want to Give Up

Opening Reflection

Friday finds you at the end of your rope.

You’ve tried. You’ve persevered. You’ve pushed through when everyone said you should quit. You’ve given it everything you have and you’re exhausted.

The finish line keeps moving further away. The breakthrough keeps not breaking through. The light at the end of the tunnel might just be another train coming.

And today, for the first time in a while, you’re seriously considering quitting. Not as dramatic gesture. Not as emotional outburst.

Just quiet acknowledgment that maybe you’ve given this enough. Maybe it’s time to stop fighting. Maybe surrender is wisdom, not weakness.

But there’s something in you that hesitates. Some small voice that says “not yet.” Some stubborn refusal to let go even though letting go would be easier. Some hope you can’t quite extinguish that whispers today’s struggle isn’t tomorrow’s conclusion.

Today’s Question: How do you find strength to keep going when everything in you wants to quit?

Three Core Truths About Exhaustion

Truth 1: Being Tired Doesn’t Mean You’re Failing

“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but 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.”

Isaiah 40:29-31 (ESV)

What Isaiah Reveals

Notice who God gives power to: the faint. Those with no might. Even strong young people get exhausted and fall. This isn’t describing spiritual failure. It’s describing human limitation.

You’re tired because you’re human. You’re depleted because you’ve been running hard. You’re exhausted because you’ve given it everything. That’s not evidence you’re doing something wrong. It’s evidence you’ve been doing something that requires everything you have.

God doesn’t condemn the faint. He empowers them. He doesn’t judge those with no might. He increases their strength. The exhaustion itself qualifies you for His renewal.

The Pattern:

• You give what you have
• You reach the end of your resources
• God provides what you don’t have
• You continue with His strength, not yours

For Today: Your exhaustion is invitation to receive God’s strength, not evidence you should quit.

Truth 2: Wanting to Quit Doesn’t Make You Weak

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (ESV)

What Paul Acknowledges

Paul doesn’t pretend everything is fine. He’s afflicted. Perplexed. Persecuted. Struck down. These aren’t minor inconveniences. These are circumstances that legitimately make you want to quit.

But notice the pattern: afflicted but not crushed. Perplexed but not in despair. Persecuted but not forsaken. Struck down but not destroyed.

There’s space between struggling and failing. Between wanting to quit and actually quitting. Between being struck down and being destroyed.

You can feel like quitting without being defeated. You can struggle intensely without failing ultimately. The desire to quit is human response to hard circumstances, not spiritual weakness.

The Difference:

• Wanting to quit = honest acknowledgment of difficulty
• Actually quitting = giving up before God says stop
• One is feeling. The other is choice.

For Today: You can acknowledge wanting to quit while choosing to continue. Both can be true simultaneously.

Truth 3: God’s Strength Shows Up When Yours Runs Out

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

What God Told Paul

Paul had “thorn in the flesh.” He asked God three times to remove it. God’s answer wasn’t removal. It was sufficiency. “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Then the key phrase: “My power is made perfect in weakness.”

God’s power doesn’t show up to supplement your strength when you’re managing fine. It shows up perfectly when you’re weak. When you’re depleted. When you’ve got nothing left.

Your strength running out creates space for God’s strength to show up. Your reaching the end of yourself is where you discover God’s no-end resources.

The Paradox:

• Your weakness = God’s power on display
• Your depletion = invitation for His provision
• Your inability = opportunity for His ability

For Today: The fact that you’ve reached the end of your strength means you’re positioned for God’s strength to take over.

A Different Framework: The Five Stages of Endurance

Most people think endurance is linear. You start strong and maintain until you finish. But biblical endurance follows different pattern with distinct stages. Understanding which stage you’re in helps you know what you need.

Stage 1: Initial Momentum (The Easy Part)

Characteristics:

• Energy is high
• Vision is clear
• Obstacles seem manageable
• Motivation is strong

What You Need: Channel enthusiasm into sustainable habits. Don’t sprint so hard you can’t finish.

Biblical Example: Peter walking on water initially (Matthew 14:28-29). Started strong with eyes on Jesus.

Stage 2: First Resistance (When It Gets Real)

Characteristics:

• Initial excitement wears off
• First real obstacles appear
• Doubts begin surfacing
• Temptation to quit starts

What You Need: Remember why you started. Reconnect with original vision. Don’t let first difficulty make you forget first calling.

Biblical Example: Israelites at Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army approaching (Exodus 14). First major obstacle after leaving Egypt.

Stage 3: The Middle Grind (Where Most Quit)

Characteristics:

• Can’t see the beginning anymore
• Can’t see the end yet
• Fatigue is constant
• Progress feels invisible
• Wondering if it’s worth it

What You Need: Small daily faithfulness. One day at a time. Community support. Reminders that invisible progress is still progress.

Biblical Example: Israelites in wilderness (Numbers 14). Can’t go back to Egypt. Haven’t reached Promised Land. Stuck in between.

This is probably where you are today. The middle grind is the most dangerous stage because it offers no emotional rewards. You’re not excited about starting anymore. You’re not energized by approaching finish. You’re just grinding.

Stage 4: The Breaking Point (The Crisis Moment)

Characteristics:

• Total depletion
• Seriously considering quitting
• Can’t see how to continue
• Feel completely alone

What You Need: Immediate relief. Short-term help. Emergency grace. Someone to carry you temporarily.

Biblical Example: Elijah under the tree wanting to die (1 Kings 19:4). Completely depleted after Jezebel’s threat.

This might be where you are today too. At breaking point where continuing seems impossible and quitting seems reasonable.

Stage 5: Second Wind (The Breakthrough)

Characteristics:

• Renewed strength from unexpected source
• Fresh perspective on situation
• End becomes visible
• Determination to finish

What You Need: Maintain momentum. Don’t let up now. Finish strong.

Biblical Example: Jesus in Gethsemane after angel strengthened Him (Luke 22:43). Faced the cross with renewed resolve.

Understanding Your Stage Matters

If you’re in Stage 3 (middle grind) or Stage 4 (breaking point), your feelings of wanting to quit are completely normal. You’re not weak. You’re human. And you’re in the exact stage where most people give up.

But Stage 5 is coming. Second wind is real. You’re closer to breakthrough than you realize.

Practical Strategies When You Want to Quit

Strategy 1: Make It Through Today Only

Don’t think about next week. Don’t worry about next month. Don’t project forward to all the days that still require strength you don’t have.

Just make it through today. That’s all. One day.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Matthew 6:34 (ESV)

How This Works:

• Today feels manageable in a way “the next six months” doesn’t
• You have grace for today even if you can’t imagine grace for tomorrow
• Tomorrow will have its own grace when tomorrow becomes today

Action Step: Every time you think “I can’t do this anymore,” add “today” to the end. “I can continue for today.”

Strategy 2: Lower Your Expectations Temporarily

You don’t have to perform at peak capacity right now. You’re depleted. Adjust expectations accordingly.

What This Looks Like:

• Do minimum necessary instead of maximum possible
• Aim for “good enough” instead of “perfect”
• Accept that survival mode is legitimate temporary strategy
• Give yourself permission to not be amazing right now

This isn’t lowering standards permanently. It’s acknowledging you’re in crisis and adjusting expectations to reality.

Permission Granted: You can do less than your best right now and still be faithful. Survival counts as success when you’re at breaking point.

Strategy 3: Ask for Help

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (ESV)

You’re not supposed to do this alone. When you fall, someone should lift you up. If you’re alone when you fall, that’s problem.

Who Can Help:

• Someone to pray with you
• Someone to take responsibility off your plate temporarily
• Someone to just sit with you in the struggle
• Someone to remind you of truth when you’re believing lies

Today’s Ask: Identify one person you can reach out to today. Tell them you’re struggling. Ask for specific help.

Strategy 4: Remember Your “Why”

When you’re depleted, you forget why you started. When “how” becomes overwhelming, reconnect with “why.”

Questions to Ask:

• Why did I start this?
• What was I hoping to accomplish?
• Who am I doing this for?
• What will happen if I quit versus if I continue?

Sometimes remembering your original “why” reignites motivation that external circumstances extinguished.

Journal Prompt: “I started this because…” Write until you reconnect with the reason that matters.

Strategy 5: Take a Break Without Quitting

There’s difference between strategic rest and permanent quitting.

Strategic Rest:

• Temporary pause to recover
• Time-limited
• With intention to resume
• Acknowledges need for recovery

Quitting:

• Permanent decision to stop
• No intention to resume
• Made from place of depletion, not clarity

You might need break. That’s not the same as quitting. Give yourself permission to rest without shame.

What This Might Look Like: “I’m taking this weekend completely off. Not quitting. Just recovering. Monday I’ll reassess.”

What Successful Endurance Actually Looks Like

It’s Not Linear Progress

You probably imagine endurance as steady upward climb. It’s not. It’s more like stock market. Overall trajectory might be up but day-to-day is all over the place.

Real Endurance Includes:

• Days you make progress
• Days you barely survive
• Days you feel like you’re going backward
• Days of breakthrough
• Days of breakdown

All of these are normal. None of them mean you’re failing.

It’s Not Constant Strength

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

2 Corinthians 12:10 (ESV)

You don’t need constant strength. You need willingness to keep showing up even when you’re weak and let God provide what you lack.

The Pattern:

• You show up weak
• God provides strength
• You continue in His strength
• You show up weak again tomorrow
• God provides again

It’s daily dependence, not one-time sufficiency.

It’s Not Solo Achievement

Nobody in Scripture endured alone. Abraham had Sarah. Moses had Aaron. David had Jonathan. Paul had Barnabas. Jesus had the disciples.

You need people. Not people to do it for you. People to endure alongside you. To remind you of truth. To carry you when you can’t walk.

Community Question: Who’s enduring with you? If answer is “nobody,” that’s why this is so hard.

Signs You’re Actually Making Progress (Even When It Doesn’t Feel Like It)

Sign 1: You’re Still Here

The fact that you’re reading this means you haven’t quit. That’s progress. Every day you don’t quit is victory even if it doesn’t feel like one.

Sign 2: You Want to Quit But Haven’t

The gap between wanting to quit and actually quitting is where character forms. That gap is growth even though it feels like torture.

Sign 3: You’re Asking How to Continue

The fact that you’re seeking answers means you haven’t given up hope. Hopeless people don’t ask how to keep going. They just stop.

Sign 4: You’ve Survived This Long

However long you’ve been enduring is evidence you can endure. You’ve already proven you have what it takes to get to today. That same strength (God’s, not yours) can get you to tomorrow.

Sign 5: You’re Being Refined

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

James 1:2-3 (ESV)

The trial is producing steadfastness. You can’t see it yet because you’re in the middle of it. But the endurance required is developing endurance capacity. The hard thing is making you into person who can handle hard things.

Your Friday Action Plan

Immediate (Next Hour):

1. Tell God honestly you want to quit. Don’t pretend you’re fine. He knows anyway.
2. Ask Him for grace for today only. Not tomorrow. Just today.
3. Identify one person to reach out to. Text them now.

Today:

4. Do only what’s absolutely necessary. Give yourself permission to do less.
5. Write down your “why.” Reconnect with reason you started.
6. Take one genuine break. Guilt-free rest for specific period.

This Weekend:

7. Assess honestly: Do you need strategic rest or are you actually being called to stop? There’s difference. Pray for discernment.

Closing Reflection

You’re not weak for wanting to quit. You’re human. You’re tired because you’ve been running hard. You’re depleted because you’ve given it everything.

But wanting to quit and actually quitting are different things. You can feel the first without doing the second.

God gives power to the faint. He increases strength to those with no might. Your depletion qualifies you for His provision. Your weakness creates space for His power.

You might be in the middle grind or at breaking point. These are the hardest stages. They’re also where most people give up. But second wind is coming. Breakthrough is closer than you realize.

Make it through today. Just today. Tomorrow will have its own grace when tomorrow comes.

You’ve endured this long. That’s evidence you can endure. The same God who got you to today will get you to tomorrow.

Don’t quit. Not yet. Not today.

A Prayer for the Exhausted

God, I want to quit. I’m not pretending otherwise. I’m tired. Depleted. At the end of my rope and wondering if I should just let go.

Thank You that being tired doesn’t mean I’m failing. Thank You that wanting to quit doesn’t make me weak. Thank You that my exhaustion qualifies me for Your strength.

I need You to show up. I’ve reached the end of my resources. I have nothing left to give. This is where Your power is made perfect in my weakness.

Help me make it through today. I can’t think about next week. I can’t handle tomorrow. Just help me with today.

Lower my expectations to what’s actually sustainable right now. Give me permission to do less than my best and still be faithful.

Bring someone to help me. I can’t do this alone. I wasn’t meant to. Send someone to lift me up because I’ve fallen and I can’t get up by myself.

Help me remember why I started. Why this matters. Why quitting would be wrong even though it would be easier.

Show me the difference between strategic rest and permanent quitting. Give me wisdom to know which one I need.

Remind me that I’m making progress even when I can’t see it. That I’m still here means something. That I want to quit but haven’t means I’m growing.

I’m in the middle grind or at breaking point. These are the stages where people give up. Help me not be one of them. Bring the second wind. Show me the breakthrough is closer than I realize.

I choose to continue today. Just today. Tomorrow will have to take care of itself. Help me with today.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.