Can I Get Back Up When I Want To Give Up? With Shawn Johnson [Episode 379]

When life gets hard—really hard—it can be tempting to throw in the towel. But today you’re going to hear an incredibly powerful testimony of why you shouldn’t.

Pastor Shawn Johnson talks about how he received a devastating brain disease diagnosis that left him wrestling with despair, doubt, and the desire to give up on everything, including his faith and his future. But through vulnerability, community, and choosing to worship even in the middle of his pain, Shawn discovered that joy can coexist with suffering.

He’ll give you three reasons to keep fighting as well as seven strategies for resilience to help you hold on to hope when everything in you wants to let go. You’ll learn how to balance vulnerability with strength, humility with courage, and faith with perseverance—so one day you can look back and say, “Thank God I didn’t give up, because look what God has done!”

Oh friend, this was such a deeply meaningful conversation that I decided to end this episode by singing over you a song I wrote called “Take Me to the Cross,” because that’s the place we all need most.

Key Takeaways

1. Trouble and abundant life aren’t sequential seasons but simultaneous realities—like train tracks running parallel. We can experience joy even while facing devastating circumstances through the power of the Holy Spirit.
2. God only uses broken people, because what other kind are there? Pretending to have it all together prevents both God’s power and community support from working in our lives.
3. Worshiping through the pain is an act of defiance against despair. Even when you don’t feel like it, choosing gratitude and praise is a reminder that suffering doesn’t get the final word.

Meet Shawn

Shawn Johnson serves as lead pastor of Red Rocks Church, a community he and a small group started in 2005 in Denver, Colorado. Red Rocks Church is a single church with multiple locations. He’s the author of Kiss the Fire and Attacking Anxiety. He and his wife, Jill, have three active sons, Ethan, Austin, and Ashton, so when they’re not at church, they’re usually watching or playing sports.

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