Don’t Give Up

I started my blog with the hope of it being a source of encouragement for you, one of inspiration and support. I wanted to create a space where you could come on any given day, perhaps a bad day, read a post, and leave feeling uplifted. I hope you’ve found that to be true

In keeping with that goal, I like sharing resources and books that I find to be encouraging – so that you can find encouragement there, too. Enter: Kyle Idleman’s new book, Don’t Give Up.

Kyle Idleman is the senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. This is the church where Bob Russell ministered from the time he was twenty two until he retired. My family has listened to and learned from Bob’s sermons for years, so when Kyle came on board at Southeast, I started listening to his sermons as well. In June 2011, Kyle Idleman wrote Not a Fan, and earlier this month, he released his new book, Don’t Give Up.

Kyle’s point with this book, the theme on which he builds, is encouragement. He dubs encouragement a universal need, but he also acknowledges that sometimes encouragement must take a different tone. We often need gentle, warm encouragement, delivered with a soft smile, while other times we need to be thrust into battle with strong, active encouragement, laced with courage.

In this book, you’ll sense both, but Kyle acknowledges these points at the beginning of the book, saying, “I’ve discovered that many of us have some voices of comfort in our lives yet what we really need is a voice of courage. We may feel the need for sympathy when what we really  need is strength” (13). And you’ll gain that strength with every page

Kyle’s book has three sections: Listen to the Crowd, Throw Off the Weight, and Run Your Race. Sound familiar? That’s because he’s structured his book around Hebrews 11 and 12, a perfect picture of what it takes to have courage and push through.

Perhaps my favorites points in Don’t Give Up are those of real life. Life isn’t easy, and the Bible never promises that it will be. But what the Bible does give us is extraordinary hope. Kyle hits both of these truths: “Sometimes faith does heal. Sometimes it does pay the bills. But sometimes what it gives you instead is something more precious: the strength to get through the day where there is no perfect healing, or when you’re not sure how the bills are going to get paid” (35). Further, he addresses difficult topics like sin, shame, guilt, obstacles – and freedom. Don’t give up.

As a side note, I love the athletic analogies made with this title, but it’s Biblical basis is what’s most inspiring. You can read more about Kyle book by clicking here, and order a copy at any of the places listed under “Order” on that site. I hope you’ll read, share, and pass these words of encouragement around.

We all need to hear them: Don’t give up.