Celebrating Quitter's Day
Happy Quitter’s Weekend! If you’ve never heard of this day and think I’m making it up—I didn’t, but someone did a few years ago. It’s a new holiday, because apparently, we need more holidays. Studies, including data from Strava, show a precipitous drop in activities—80% by the second Friday of the year—as so many bail on their resolutions. We don’t just fail; we fail fast.
Every year as a lead pastor, I’ve preached on why resolving to change is something we should all pursue throughout our lives. But today, let’s look beyond resolutions to something equally critical: How do we handle our failures to change?
The Gospel: Perfect for Quitters and Failures
The Gospel is perfect for quitters and failures. It’s truly a story meant to be enjoyed by those of us who, through our best attempts or no attempt, are deeply loved by a God who has never quit on us or failed. He has an unwavering commitment to us, even when we lose commitment and waver.
In fact, the Gospel stands alone in this regard. Every other world religion pushes us to be better or do better, but the Gospel says, “Come, all who are weary. Come, all quitters, rebels, and failures.” Quitters Day reminds us of our frailty and finite boundaries. It reminds us that we’re not enough in and of ourselves—that we need help. This is where the Gospel becomes even more fascinating.
The Prodigal Son: A Story of Grace
Some of you might remember that last fall we walked through the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. We examined the Younger Brother and the Older Brother, seeing how we can find bits of ourselves in both. Ultimately, it’s a story about how God cares for both legalists and rebels.
The younger son begins his journey full of confidence, eager to pursue life on his own terms. But before long, his plans collapse. He finds himself in a famine, feeding and even eating with pigs. In short, he was a failure. Yet, at his lowest moment, he decides to return to his father—to come close.
What happens next is astounding. The father doesn’t chastise him, demand restitution, or require an explanation. Instead, he runs to meet his son, throws his arms around him, and welcomes him home as a beloved child. The son’s failure wasn’t the end of his story; it was the turning point. Failure is not final.
Peter’s Redemption
The Gospel is the good news that failure doesn’t define us. Our culture often says the opposite: that we are defined by our successes and failures. But the Gospel tells a radically different story: we are defined not by what we do but by what Christ has done.
Consider John 21, where Peter encounters Jesus after the resurrection. Peter, who denied Jesus three times, essentially quit when it mattered most. Yet, when Jesus meets Peter on the shore, He behaves like the Prodigal Father. He doesn’t dismiss or abandon Peter or demand an explanation. Instead, He reinstates him. Peter’s story, like the Prodigal Son’s, shows that in the hands of Jesus, our quitting isn’t the end. It can be the very place where God begins to write something new. Failure is not final.
Why Celebrate Quitters Day?
In our endeavors to change, we will find the edge of failure—and we’ll find it often. Whether you hate making resolutions (like 60% of people) or love it, 100% of us know what it feels like to fall short of where we want to be. We all know what it feels like to fail or quit. In those moments, we’re often tempted to avoid God and wrap ourselves in shame. We believe we’re not clean enough or solid enough to approach Him. We think we need to unfail ourselves first. But nothing could be further from the truth.
This year, whether your resolutions are formal or informal, put this at the top of your list: When you fail, come close to God. Find Him fast. Wear that path down and carry confidence with you. When the voice in your head says you have no right to be close to God, appeal to Jesus, who never failed and yet brought us close to the Father. As the hymn Before the Throne of God Above says:
When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see Him there,
Who made an end of all my sin.
Your proximity to the Father is built on Jesus’ merit, not yours. So when you fail again, run—don’t walk—to a waiting Father who wears compassion and joy.
Fresh Mercies Every Morning
Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us something fascinating:
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
Every single morning, God’s mercies are new. Not recycled, not rationed, not leftovers from yesterday—new. Think about that. For the people of God, every day is New Year’s Day. Every morning, God declares over you: “Here’s a fresh start. Here’s brand-new mercy. Let’s start over. I’ve got you. All of yesterday’s failures are swallowed up in My faithfulness.”
God’s mercies are inexhaustible. They have no shelf life. While we imagine Him growing weary of us, His grace and mercy never run dry.
