Shalom,
I have always loved Psalm 55:22:
22 Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).
No matter how difficult the situation or how hopeless it may APPEAR to be, remember THIS verse and you will be greatly encouraged! That will enable you to maintain the attitude that you will never give up, never give in, never, never, never!
In Acts today we read about Paul making his way to Rome. You're familiar with the story of the shipwreck and all that takes place at this time. The key Scriptures to me today are verses 10-11 and 21-26:
10 Saying, Sirs, I perceive [after careful observation] that this voyage will be attended with disaster and much heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but of our lives also.
11 However, the centurion paid greater attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.
21 Then as they had eaten nothing for a long time, Paul came forward into their midst and said, Men, you should have listened to me, and should not have put to sea from Crete and brought on this disaster and harm and misery and loss.
22 But [even] now I beg you to be in good spirits and take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you but only of the ship.
23 For this [very] night there stood by my side an angel of the God to Whom I belong and Whom I serve and worship,
24 And he said, Do not be frightened, Paul! It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar; and behold, God has given you all those who are sailing with you.
25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith (complete confidence) in God that it will be exactly as it was told me;
26 But we shall have to be stranded on some island.
Paul had warned them ahead of time, but they would not listen to him! No respect! We see that sometimes when, even though people should have confidence that we hear from God by the results of our lives and ministries, many still doubt and go the world's way. Don't be discouraged! Keep obeying God and eventually they WILL see and you will be able to help them! Below is the link for another interesting website that has an interactive map of Paul's missionary journeys. I hope you find it interesting!
Shalom in Him!
