Never Give Up

If you ever felt overwhelmed, full of despair, beaten down and ready to give up because of no apparent signs of hope - then Jesus' parable, 'The Persistent Widow', in Luke 18:1-8 speaks to you.
In the parable the widow, who is seeking justice has it denied repeatedly. As a widow, she is a symbol of all who are poor and defenseless. Her only weapon is her tenacious spirit; an attitude of persistence. The judge refuses to hear the widow's case. Then he finally gives in, granting her request and dispenses justice.
In this parable the judge is not compared to GOD. Sometimes this parable gets misunderstood when we compare the judge and his actions to GOD. By comparing the judge to GOD forces us to misunderstand the point and power of the parable and take it to mean that we must constantly 'pound on GOD's door' for our prayers to be heard - rather than being a story that describes persevering in our prayer life and throughout our life.
Here, Jesus contrast the judge to GOD. It's as if Jesus said, "If this callous judge, who doesn't care anything about anybody answers the widow's plea, how much more will GOD hear and answer our prayers?"
The parable is about persevering. It's about never giving up.
Winston Churchill was a stutterer. He suffered from dyslexia and from bouts of depression. It took him 3 years to get through the eighth grade because he had trouble with English. And yet, years later he was invited to address the Oxford University commencement exercises. He arrived wearing his top hat, smoking a thick cigar with his cane in hand. After being introduced, he walked up to the podium as the crowd rose in appreciative applause. Standing at the podium, Churchill laid his hat on top of the podium, removed his cigar, and gazed at his waiting audience. Authority rang in Churchill's voice as he shouted, "Never give up!" Several seconds passed before he rose to his toes and repeated, "Never give up!" Again he shouted, "Never, ever give up!" As the words hung there in the air, there was a deafening silence as Churchill reached for his hat and cigar and began to walk off the stage. Then the crowd erupted into a roar of applause because they knew he was someone who never gave up.
When we are faced with challenges. When we are hurting, when we are facing problems we should listen for Churchill's commencement words and never give up.