If this happens to be the first blog of mine that you’ve read, let me quickly summarize the last six months. On July 3, 2025, I had a 10-level spinal fusion surgery, which has a 12-18 month recovery time. My body was hooked on pain killers (hydrocodone and Oxy) for the first couple months, then I detoxed myself. The pain has really been unbelievable, and I suffer this “recovery pain” 24/7.
There, now you’re all caught up. For more info, read my last few blogs.
Fast-forward to January, 2026: I find myself walking faster sometimes, but other times having a hard time standing up or getting out of bed. Since the surgery eradicated my spinal stenosis and scoliosis, my brain keeps thinking I should be fully healed, but my body reminds me I’m not there yet. It’s been driving me a little crazy lately, and instead of fighting depression like I used to, I find myself getting angry.
I finally confessed this last night to my wife, Laura. We’ve been together for over 40 years, and she knew something was wrong, but wasn’t quite sure what. Thus, I finally told her: “I’m SO sick of this, baby. Some days I just don’t know if I can go on.
“I feel like giving up,” I told her, and it was all I could do to stop the tears from flowing.
The fact is, life is hard, man. I mean, really hard. Even as a Christian…even with a Bible full of verses about “victory” and “God’s love,” and even about “Heaven”. By rights, I should be happy and full of joy all the time, but that’s not reality.
I still have to do a log-roll to get out of bed at night, and then sit up on the edge for a minute or two, trying to gather the strength to stand up. I recently became aware of my lack of joy when Laura and I were watching a comedy with our grandkids, and our 8-year-old granddaughter, Jenna, said, “I love it when you laugh, Poppy!”
I thought, “Oh man, I must be letting all this crap get to me.” I asked Laura if I’ve not appeared joyful lately, and she admitted that laughter and smiling have become rare for me. It’s tough when this pain is your constant companion, day and night, night and day. You can never escape it, as much as you’d like to.
Yeah, living in pain is maddening.
I liken living in pain to a prison. No, I don’t know what it’s like to spend more than three hours in jail (long story for another day), so I would never tell a prisoner who has done substantial time, “I know how you feel.” But many of us live in a prison of pain—a prison of the mind and body—from which we can’t break free.
So we get angry: about what we’ve lost…about the weight of our burdens…about the constant agony that can literally drive you crazy if you let it…about everything we can’t do. I feel like shaking my fist into the wind and screaming, “I’m done! I’ve had it! I can’t take this anymore!!!!”
But I know I can take it. And how do I know that?
“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).
Note this doesn’t say, “I hope I can do everything,” or “I can do some things.” No, it says “everything.” This tells me God has equipped me, with His help, to handle whatever comes my way.
With Christ’s help, I will overcome literally every trial that ever comes my way. Yup, every stinkin’ one of ‘em.
That being said, living in this skin is laborious and grueling some days, so I’ve compiled a list of 10 Bible verses for when we (and I mean “we,” not “you”) feel like giving up:
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (Galatians 6:9 NLT).
Victory is travelling one path, and we’re on another, and at a certain point those paths will collide. We will have victory, so don’t give up!
“So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised” (Hebrews 10:35-36 NLT).
We will receive all God has promised only AFTER we practice “patient endurance”. We can never forget the reward awaiting us in Heaven.
“Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless” (Isaiah 40:28-29 NLT).
We grow weak and weary, but the Lord never does! Keep on keepin’ on, and God will give you power and strength.
“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12 NLT).
“Endure”. That’s a lesson I’ve learned in this surgery recovery. When you have no other choice, ENDURE. When you don’t know what to do next, and don’t think you can go on, keep walking. Like Sir Winston Churchill said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
“I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13b NLT).
The Apostle Paul didn’t say, “I have this magic list of secrets to help you be a success in life.” No, he said he focuses on ONE thing: FORGET THE PAST AND LOOK AHEAD…to victory…to Heaven!
“You know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering. If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be” (James 1:3-4 ERV).
Like it or not, learning to be patient in suffering is the most effective way to become mature and complete. Example: say two teenagers graduate from high school. One lives in his parents’ basement, never getting a job or doing anything productive. The other gets a job, gets her own apartment, starts paying her own bills and endures “life,” as hard as it may be. Now, after ten years, which one do you think will be more “mature and complete”? I don’t believe there’d be any contest at all. Life gives you blisters that turn into callouses, which then prove to toughen you up to endure whatever is thrown at you.
“I will give rest and strength to those who are weak and tired” (Jeremiah 31:25 ERV).
“Rest” and “strength”. I don’t know about you, but I could use a mountain of BOTH!
“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT).
Wow, I mean, there’s nothing more I can add to this one. Thank You, Jesus, for this promise.
“There was no hope that Abraham would have children, but Abraham believed God and continued to hope. And that is why he became the father of many nations. As God told him, ‘You will have many descendants.’ Abraham was almost 100 years old, so he was past the age for having children. Also, Sarah could not have children (author’s note: she was 90 years old!). Abraham was well aware of this, but his faith in God never became weak” (Romans 4:18-19 ERV, note added).
Abraham, 100 years old and LONG past time when he could father a child, “continued to hope,” and THAT is why he became the “father of many nations”. God gave Abraham a promise, but it could only be attained if he never gave up hope. And I don’t even wanna THINK about how painful it must be for a 90-year-old woman to give birth. YEESH. But their faith never became weak. NEVER.
“So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me” (2 Corinthians 12:7b-9).
This was the Apostle Paul talking about his struggles, and how the Lord did NOT heal him. Instead, Paul was reminded that God’s grace is all he needed, and Christ’s power “works best in weakness”. I still don’t know how it all works, but I can tell you, after suffering 40 years with pain, depression, anger, bitterness or despair destroying me, it DOES work.
I’m praying for everyone reading this right now. I pray the Lord fill you with patience, joy, laughter, strength, endurance and all the good things you need to survive. Life is an ugly, beautiful ride, and with God’s help, we can not only survive, but thrive.
Broken People 