Tired, But Still Carrying On

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”  Galatians 6:9

Sometimes when we don’t see any results from our prayers or from our efforts at doing good, it is easier to give up than to keep praying and/or working day after day, year after year.  For the believer, throwing in the towel is not an option.  What’s the benefit in giving up?  If we keep our “hand to the plough”, our “eye on the ball”, and, most of all, our faith in Jesus, then we will still have hope that our desire will be fulfilled.  There is no hope in giving up.  A few years ago, in autumn, I was bringing my potted plants inside for the winter and raking leaves in the backyard when I noticed that my wedding band was not on my finger.  It was chilly outside, and my ring always gets loose when my hands get cold.  I was very upset.  I looked and looked, asked a friend to come over with her metal detector, later rented a more powerful metal detector, but could not find my ring.  For nearly six months I constantly looked for my ring.  I thought that maybe a squirrel had found it and took it to her nest.  Of course, I prayed and asked the Lord multiple times, but reluctantly came to the realization that it was likely gone for good.  I almost got to the point that I considered it useless to spend any more time looking for my ring.

The following spring, I was taking my plants back outside from the basement.  I always set the pots in some sort of saucer to catch the water.  I use aluminum pie pans, old dishes, and other items for plant saucers.  I picked up this one plant and sitting right behind it in the pie pan was my ring!  I said that I wished that I could have seen the look on my own face!  I was one happy camper and thanked God for preserving my ring and letting me find it after six months without it.  I never really gave up on it.  I still had hope that it would turn up eventually.  I was telling a friend about it, and she said that it was put there for safekeeping.  I thought about that, and it could have slipped off of my finger in all the leaves and might have been gone for good.  Scripture promises that we will eventually reap the answer to our situation if we don’t give up.

Paul understood the weariness that can come upon a person who is relentless in his or her Christian service.  He had suffered persecution many times since beginning his ministry.  If anyone had cause to rethink his mission, it would have been Paul.  But that was not Paul.  He had “gone too far to turn back now”.  He desired to instill this attitude of perseverance into the Galatian believers and in us as well.  Sometimes we do get tired while serving others.  It can seem as if we are the only ones who truly care about serving Christ by doing good to others.  We expect them to appreciate our help, but only sometimes do we receive a “thank you”.  That tends to make us less prone to give our all as we serve others, but we must remember that we serve Christ and others because it is the right thing to do and not for the purpose of receiving any accolades, praises, or even a simple “thank you”.  The Lord promises that to keep on keeping on will be rewarded at some future time either in this life or the life to come

If a believer decides to give up, where is he or she going to go?  Back to a life of sin and misery?  No matter how difficult the road to glory may be, it is far better than the road which leads to nothing but difficulty and disaster.  We see unbelievers who are not conscientious about doing the right thing yet are prospering with seemingly no adverse consequences.  It is in circumstances like these that it takes faith and a real determination to not give up.  Even if I continue doing what’s right but don’t see the expected outcome, at least I can sleep at night with a clear conscience.  I know that I surely would not want Jesus to give up on me.