Stay in the Game: Don't grow weary in well-doing

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9

To be weary means to be fatigued. Worn out. Tired.

Sometimes we just feel those things. We don’t always understand how we got to that place, we just know it’s how we feel. We get tired physically, mentally and emotionally. We get tired of dealing with the same issues, tired of waiting, and tired of it being one thing after another. We get tired of doing good and feel like we don’t see the benefits.

Recently for me, I was praying and trusting God for one thing, and just when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, boom another area of my life felt like it was under attack. And that’s when we have those honest moments with God saying “Really God?! Does it ever end??”

When God tells us to not to grow weary, it’s’ because he knows we will have those moments. He knew there would be times when we felt like giving up or throwing in the towel. We are juggling a lot and when one thing goes wrong, it seems like everything is falling apart. Loving people can get hard, carrying the burdens of others can be hard, simply spending time with the Lord can get hard. We are accustomed to everything happening quickly and on our own time, so the idea of remaining steadfast doesn’t always sit well with us.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

In the Bible, David was referred to as a “as man after the Lord’s own heart” (Acts 13:22) and even he grew weary. His life story is one full of both uphill and downhill battles. God had chosen him to be the king of Israel, but he still experienced a lot of life’s issues along the way. (This reminds us that even when we have a specific call over our life, that doesn’t mean we will not experience any setbacks or doubts along the way)!

When David was anointed as King, Saul grew jealous of him and even plotted to kill him (1Samuel 19). His son conspired against him to take his spot as the king (2 Samuel 16). He fought many battles against the philistines and the people of Moab and others. (1 Chronicles 18) But David found favor with God because he did as the Lord instructed. It wasn’t because he was perfect or had it all together actually, he messed up and fell into sin a lot. But overall, he stayed in the game and was committed to doing the will of God. Even when it got hard, or he didn’t feel like it.

After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do. Acts 13:22

He knew that God would keep his promises. When he faced the giants before him, he recalled what the Lord had done before.

The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:37

When the odds didn’t look good, he stood on faith.  By outer judgment, he was weaker than the Philistine, just as it seems sometimes in our circumstances, we feel weak and little in comparison to all that is happening around us. But David, didn’t back down, instead he stood in confidence that the Lord would deliver. He remembered all that the Lord had done before.  And he won the battle.

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 1 Samuel 17:45

But throughout all the victories he experienced, he also had a lot of lonely and low moments.  There are times when David cried out to the Lord because he felt abandoned by God. Our circumstances can sometimes make us feel far from God. They make us question his faithfulness. We begin to lose hope and grow weary. In these moments, God wants us to hear our frustrations. These prayers are referred to as ‘prayers of lament’, full of many emotions that we feel when going through tough times. In Psalm 13, David is crying out to God in his moment of weakness and vulnerability.

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?    How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?    How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, Lord my God.    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;    my heart rejoices in your salvation.I will sing the Lord’s praise,    for he has been good to me. Psalm 13: 1-6

When I read this psalm, it makes me emotional, because in so many ways I have been here before. When life gets hard and we just feel like we don’t see God, this is our prayer. But I love how his posture changes at the end of the psalm. He started out by bringing his situation to God. Then he went on to bring his request before the Lord. But in the end, he had an attitude of gratitude. Not because God had answered his request immediately, but because of who God has been to him.

The Lord is always good to us. He is always working things together for our good, whether we see it or not. We get consumed in what is going on around us instead of what God is doing in us.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:22-24

So next time you feel like throwing in the towel, take your burdens to God (Matthew 11:28). Remember all that the Lord has done (Isaiah 46:9-10). Stand firm on his promises that we will complete every good work he began in you (Philippians 1:6). Continue to plant the seeds because a season of harvest is coming soon if we don’t give up! (Galatians 6:9).

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28

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