GALATIANS 6:9 – And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
THEME OF THE DAY: LOOK TO THE REWARD, WEARY CHRISTIAN. There is a price to pay in living the Christian life and serving the Lord with zeal. It was a price paid by the Lord Jesus all throughout His earthly life, illustrated in the Gospel of John and the encounter with the woman at the well – Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour (John 4:1-6).
The price is weariness – So, Jesus, wearied as He was from His journey, was sitting beside the well. The word “wearied” means exhausted, greatly strained, tired from overuse, to toil, or work hard and points to expending oneself physically and emotionally. Don’t forget, Jesus was the God-man knowing the weariness of our humanity. And in His life, He knew many long days and nights fulfilling His Father’s will. It will be the same for us if we want to make a difference for the Lord Jesus in and from our lives.
In today’s scripture, the Apostle Paul gives us the strong exhortation to “not grow weary of doing good” because the temptation to its opposite – growing weary of doing good – is strong. And we will give into the temptation if we don’t keep the end of Paul’s exhortation ever before us – for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Friends, in all our living and labors for the Lord, keep our eyes on the reward; that day we see the Lord Jesus and hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). Even though we are told the Lord will give rewards on Judgment Day for our acceptable works, the true reward is seeing Jesus and hear those words (1 Corinthians 3:14). If we don’t think of that glorious day as we live and labor for the Lord, we will grow weary of doing good and two results will occur.
First, if we don’t look to the due season of reaping, of seeing Jesus, our weariness of labor will cause us discouragement and loss of zeal. We will only look around, not up, and if we don’t see fruit from our labors, a downcast heart will result. And that leads to half-hearted service.
Another result of not looking to the day of hearing Jesus say those rewarding words, “Well done, good and faithful servant”, is our weariness may actually lead us to give up active service for the Lord. Oh, we won’t lose our salvation, but we may feel so exhausted, we justify “taking a break from ministry” that leads to getting out of ministry. Don’t think it cannot happen. The land is full of Christians who started well, ran well, but now are on the sidelines because of weariness that left them so discouraged, they felt they couldn’t go on.
Weariness is a price that must be paid in living for and serving the Lord. Be willing to pay it by keeping the end in view and relying upon the joy of the Lord to be our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). He is faithful to strengthen us in our weary times.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to keep the goal of hearing ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ in my heart.”
QUOTE: “Weariness is part of the price to pay in our lives and labor for the Lord Jesus.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim