"God grant you the strength to fight off the temptations of surrender"
About this Quote
A brief prayer cuts to the heart of perseverance, asking for strength not simply to struggle, but to resist the seductive ease of giving up. Surrender can look merciful when fatigue, failure, or ridicule pile up. It offers immediate relief, a promise to stop hurting. Calling it a temptation reframes quitting as something that flatters weakness while quietly stealing purpose. The line elevates endurance from a grim duty to a moral and spiritual discipline.
The opening words, God grant you, signal humility. Willpower matters, but there are seasons when resolve feels depleted and a person recognizes the need for help beyond the self. The appeal also hints at community and tradition: strength can be drawn from faith, mentors, institutions, and shared ideals when private grit falters. It echoes the cadence of the Serenity Prayer but directs attention to a different pivot point: not acceptance versus change, but relief versus meaning.
Walter Annenberg knew how alluring resignation can be. As a publisher, diplomat, and philanthropist, he moved through storms of public scrutiny and private disappointment. Media work tests one’s stamina against partisan pressure and sensationalism. Diplomacy demands patience in the face of slow progress and entrenched conflict. Philanthropy aimed at education reform confronts inertia and backlash. In each arena, the easy escape is cynicism, the shrug that says nothing will improve. Strength, in his framing, is less a burst of defiance than the daily refusal to slide into despair.
The counsel is not a call to stubbornness for its own sake. It points toward a higher loyalty: to conscience, to the common good, to the long horizon where effort compounds. Fighting off the temptations of surrender means guarding the fragile spark of purpose when outcomes are uncertain and applause is absent. It is an encouragement to keep faith with the work, and with oneself, until the next right step becomes possible.
The opening words, God grant you, signal humility. Willpower matters, but there are seasons when resolve feels depleted and a person recognizes the need for help beyond the self. The appeal also hints at community and tradition: strength can be drawn from faith, mentors, institutions, and shared ideals when private grit falters. It echoes the cadence of the Serenity Prayer but directs attention to a different pivot point: not acceptance versus change, but relief versus meaning.
Walter Annenberg knew how alluring resignation can be. As a publisher, diplomat, and philanthropist, he moved through storms of public scrutiny and private disappointment. Media work tests one’s stamina against partisan pressure and sensationalism. Diplomacy demands patience in the face of slow progress and entrenched conflict. Philanthropy aimed at education reform confronts inertia and backlash. In each arena, the easy escape is cynicism, the shrug that says nothing will improve. Strength, in his framing, is less a burst of defiance than the daily refusal to slide into despair.
The counsel is not a call to stubbornness for its own sake. It points toward a higher loyalty: to conscience, to the common good, to the long horizon where effort compounds. Fighting off the temptations of surrender means guarding the fragile spark of purpose when outcomes are uncertain and applause is absent. It is an encouragement to keep faith with the work, and with oneself, until the next right step becomes possible.
Quote Details
| Topic | Prayer |
|---|
More Quotes by Walter
Add to List
