Quitters Never Win, and Winners Never Quit

Dear Friends,

Apart from the joy, excitement, and pleasure we derive from sports, especially football, sport can also teach us something very important about life. It teaches us the value of true perseverance, the ability to continue even when things are not going the way we expect. You must have heard the saying: “Winners never quit, and quitters never win.”

Recently, I was thinking about this saying in relation to the story of Mikel Arteta and Arsenal Football Club. When Arteta became Arsenal manager in December 2019, the club was going through a difficult period. The team had lost confidence and consistency, and the glory days seemed far away. Arteta had the difficult task of rebuilding not only the team but also its mentality and desire to compete at the highest level. It did not happen overnight. There were difficult moments. There were seasons when Arsenal were not winning what they wanted. At this time, you can trust Fans; they know how to express frustration to a club that was once their pride. Some even called for the coach to be sacked. But gradually, things began to change. The team became more competitive. They started challenging for the Premier League title. They came close, but they did not win.

In fact, Arsenal finished as runners-up in three consecutive seasons before finally going one step further.  One can imagine how easy it would have been to become discouraged. But they did not quit. And finally, in the 2025/26 season, Arsenal became Premier League champions, ending a 22-year wait for the title.  What makes the story interesting is not simply that Arsenal won. It is how long they had to wait. Sometimes, victory comes after many disappointments. And this brings us to today’s Gospel.

We encounter a Canaanite woman who comes to Jesus with a desperate request. Her daughter is suffering terribly, and she believes that Jesus can help her. So she cries out: “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me!” But Jesus does not answer her immediately.  She comes to Jesus with faith. She asks for help. And instead of receiving an immediate answer, she encounters silence. How many of us have experienced something similar? We pray, but nothing seems to change. We ask God for something important to us, but the situation appears to remain the same. We pray for healing, but the sickness continues. We pray for a job, but the doors remain closed. We pray for our children, our families, our future, but sometimes it seems as though heaven is silent. And when the answer does not come, we can become tired. We can begin to ask: “Does God really hear me?”

The Canaanite woman could have walked away. The disciples even wanted Jesus to send her away. Yet she remained. She came back again and said: “Lord, help me.” Even when Jesus’ response seemed discouraging, she did not quit. And eventually Jesus said something remarkable: “Woman, great is your faith!” What made her faith great?

She did not give up. Her faith was not tested when everything was going well. Her faith was tested when nothing seemed to be happening. This is an important lesson for us. Sometimes we think that having faith means believing that God will give us everything we ask for. But the Gospel teaches us something deeper. Faith means continuing to trust God even when we do not understand God. The Canaanite woman did not know how Jesus would answer her. She did not know when He would answer her. She simply refused to walk away from Him. And perhaps this is where many of us struggle. We are willing to pray when things are going well. We are willing to trust God when our prayers are answered quickly. But what happens when God seems silent? What happens when you have prayed for years, and the situation has not changed? What happens when you have tried again and again and still failed? What happens when you have been faithful, but you are still waiting? Today’s Gospel tells us: Don’t quit. Keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep coming to Jesus. But perseverance does not mean forcing God to do what we want. It means remaining faithful even when we cannot see the outcome.

There is another beautiful lesson in the Gospel. This woman was a Canaanite, a foreigner. She was not part of the Jewish people. Yet Jesus presents her as an example of great faith. This reminds us that God can surprise us. Sometimes the person we think is far from God may have a deeper faith than we imagine. Sometimes the person we consider an outsider may become an example for us. God’s mercy is not restricted to the people we think deserve it. God’s love reaches beyond the boundaries we create.

Dear friends, today’s lesson is not that everyone who perseveres will necessarily receive exactly what they want. Rather, the lesson is that we should never allow disappointment to make us abandon our faith in God. Sometimes God is working in us while we are waiting for Him to work in our situation. Sometimes the waiting is changing us. Sometimes the struggle is strengthening us. And sometimes, when we look back, we discover that God was present even in the moments when we thought He was silent. Therefore, when life becomes difficult, don’t give up on God. When your prayer seems unanswered, don’t stop praying. When you are discouraged, remember the words: “Winners never quit, and quitters never win.” And above all, remember the words of Jesus to the Canaanite woman: “Great is your faith.”  May our faith also become great, not only when God gives us what we want, but especially when we are still waiting, still struggling, and still trusting. Happy Sunday