Did You Quit Too Soon?
At fifty-one years old, Dwight Eisenhower considered himself a failure.
Let that sink in. The man we remember as a five-star general and the 34th President of the United States once looked in the mirror and saw a man with no future. One biographer put it this way. He had given his life to the army, had no savings, no accomplishments he could point to with pride, and nothing but a small pension waiting for him.
Had he died in 1941, no one would remember his name.
Could you imagine if he had quit? What if he had turned in his papers and walked away?
Here’s what Eisenhower didn’t know: God had a much bigger plan. That’s how God works. He’s a big God with a long view, and He doesn’t punch the same clock we do.
But so many of us never get there. We feel passed over. Underappreciated. Cast aside. We look at where we are instead of where God is taking us. And somewhere along the way, we start operating in our own strength, living life our own way, and wondering why nothing fits.
Friend, God is not done with you.
The Bible says, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:11–12, NIV).
Catch that word — prepare. God is preparing you. You have a gift that builds up the church, but it has to be shaped before it’s sent. And shaping takes time.
Maybe that’s our problem. We want to be the general before God has finished preparing us to lead the army. We want the title before the training is done.
Eisenhower waited. And when the moment came, he was ready. He developed the plan we know as D-Day, Operation Overlord. It was originally scheduled for May 1944, but had to be pushed back to June. They didn’t have enough landing crafts. Even the plan had to wait for the right time.
Then on June 6, 1944, it happened. And the world changed.
Maybe your operation isn’t ready yet either. Maybe God is still working on a few things — in the plan and in you. That’s not failure. That’s preparation.
So don’t quit. Don’t retire from the calling. Your D-Day will come. And when it does, victory is already assured.
Keep looking up.
Heaven is closer than you think.
May God bless your day.
Related devotionals: When you feel stuck · The sermon no one heard · Burn the ships
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If today’s devotional spoke to your heart, my books carry these same themes deeper. Stories of God moving in ordinary lives, scripture for tired pastors and weary parents, and steady reminders that heaven is closer than you think.