Quitting Has Become the American Way — But Fruit Comes Through Faithful Endurance

We’re living in a time when quitting has become the American way. If something gets hard, uncomfortable, or doesn’t cater to our feelings, we walk away. Whether it's relationships, church, work, or even our commitment to God, many have adopted the mindset that if it costs me something, it must not be for me.

But here's the truth: fruit never grows in comfort. It grows in discipline. It grows in the soil of endurance, watered by sacrifice and sunlighted by faith.

The Culture of Quitting
We see it everywhere.

• Marriages fall apart not always because of abuse or betrayal, but often because "we just fell out of love."

• Jobs are left because we don’t feel fulfilled after three months.

• Churches are abandoned because someone said something we didn’t like, or the pastor preached a too-hard message.

• Friendships are ghosted because confrontation seems too hard.

America has developed a short attention span for struggle. We’ve mistaken discomfort for dysfunction. We run at the first sign of adversity. But quitting doesn’t just delay growth — it kills it.

The Call to Die, Discipline, and Bear Fruit
Jesus never sugarcoated the cost of discipleship. In Luke 9:23 (LSB), He says,

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

That doesn’t sound like a quitter’s invitation. That’s a call to die to self. A call to discipline. A call to carry weight, daily. And it’s in that daily dying that we truly begin to live.

Galatians 5 talks about the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. You don’t get that kind of fruit by bailing out every time it gets hard. Fruit grows when you stay planted, even in the drought.

Discipline Isn’t Legalism — It’s Love in Action
Too many confuse spiritual discipline with religious rigidity. But discipline is what love looks like over time. It’s choosing what’s right over what’s easy. It’s pressing into God’s Word when your feelings are screaming. It’s staying in the fight even when you're tired, because you know Who you're fighting for.

Hebrews 12:11 (LSB) says,

“And all discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful, but to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

That fruit only comes after discipline, after you stick it out. After you refuse to quit.

Stay When It's Hard

• What if we stopped looking for the escape route and started asking God what He’s trying to teach us in the fire?

• What if instead of leaving your marriage, you humbled yourself and fought for it?

• What if instead of quitting your job, you asked God how to shine for Him there?

• What if instead of leaving your church, you leaned into accountability and healing?

God doesn’t bless flakiness. He blesses faithfulness. And faithfulness means staying when it’s hard — staying when it hurts — staying when your flesh wants out.

Jesus Didn’t Quit on You
When Jesus was sweating blood in the garden, He could’ve walked.
When the nails pierced His flesh, He could’ve called down angels.
When the crowd mocked and spat, He could’ve silenced them with one breath.

But He didn’t.

He endured. He finished. He bore the weight of our sin and shame, not because it was easy, but because it was necessary. Because love required it.

So if you’re thinking about quitting, stop. Pray. Press in. Discipline yourself for the sake of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7). Stay planted. Because in due season, you will reap — if you do not give up.

Quitting may be the American way.
But staying, growing, enduring — that’s the Jesus way.

And that’s the way we were meant to live.
In Love,

Pastor Jody