Jump Start # 814

Galatians 6:9 “let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.”

Yesterday in our Jump Start we took a look at the faithful few in Sardis who the Lord called worthy. They were not dead like the rest of the church. When we think about the few who are doing what they ought to do, our verse today comes to mind. Paul was encouraging the Galatians to stay with it and to keep doing good.

There are two expressions in this verse that are worth looking at:

First, losing heart. Paul said, “Let us not lose heart.” Luke uses this expression when he wrote, “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart” (18:1). Losing heart means to become discouraged. We might say, ‘my heart is not in it,’ or, ‘I just don’t feel like it.’ Those doing good can get discouraged. They can ‘lose heart.’

Secondly, Paul uses the expression, “weary.” Most understand that word. Tired. This is not so much an outside tired as it is an inside tired. A person who works hard all day will be tired. If you helped someone move and you haven’t lifted much in a while, you feel it the next day. A good night’s sleep is usually the solution to the outside kind of tired. Paul is referring to an inside tired. Weary in heart. Tired of doing good. Tired of always being the one called upon. Tired that no one else seems to step up.

This kind of tired is often called burned out. The toll, stress and energy of working with problems and problemed people wears on some. Leaders need to recognize this among themselves. Elders get tired of chasing after sheep who want to stand next to dangerous cliffs, eat poisoned food, and go a different direction than the flock. The phone calls, the one on one visits, the encouraging, the pleading, the teaching, the reminding, the late nights, the weekends, the many, many hours wears upon them. They become weary in heart. They lose heart.

Preachers can get this way. They wonder on some days if anyone ever listens to what they are saying. They wonder if they are doing any good. Weary to the bone and losing heart fast, some look for quick solutions. Move to another church? Quit?

Parents can feel this way. You work and work with your kids to point them to Jesus. Those sweet little voices that sang, “Jesus loves me,” and said those cute little prayers, can grow up to be sassy teen-agers who think that they know everything. Some of their choices may not be wise, or godly. You teach. You show. You try. You grow weary. Some days you lose heart.

Those that are engaged in the spiritual work of God experience this. This is why Paul wrote this verse. It happened then and it happens today. God’s people get tired on the inside. God’s people lose heart. When those who are engaged get that way, it’s a frightful thing. Who will encourage them? Who will help them? If the preacher gets discouraged, who helps him? Who helps the shepherds when they feel like quitting? Who helps the parent when they want to resign?

Some do quit. Others keep going, however, the intensity and energy is not the same. They are weary. They have lost heart. They do it because there is no one else to take their place. If Mom quits, who will be a mother? If dad says, “I had enough, I no longer will be a dad,” then who takes his place? Paul’s words were intended for the brethren to recognize these things and to remind them that they were making a difference and that their labors were not in vain. Some never see the good that they did. You plant a small tree, you may never enjoy the shade from it, but someone else will.

There is an example we learn from David when he was being chased by king Saul. David had 600 men with him. They returned home to find their families had been kidnapped. That took the heart out of all of them. The men turned against David. Things were bad. There is a passage that states David strengthened himself in the Lord. David did that. He didn’t have someone else encourage him, he encouraged himself.

We do that through prayer. We do that through reading the Scriptures. We do that by reminding us that it is not about us, we are just a tool, it is about the Lord. We do that by seeing the big picture of why we are doing what we are doing.

There are times that there is no one to encourage the parent, the preacher or the shepherd in God’s church. Strengthen yourself. Find ways to overcome the weariness and find your heart again.

Here are a few suggestions that works for me:

• Take a one day vacation—I don’t mean go to Disney. Just take an afternoon off, to get away from things and catch your breath and get back in the fight of things. Coaches rest players so they can be there to finish the game. We need that mentally and emotionally. Take a drive on a nice day…go to a movie…go golfing…do something that takes your mind away for a short time to rest it and to rest yourself. I’m not a nap person, but that works for some. Not everyday. Not for long periods of time. But you know when you are getting weary. You can tell when you are getting discouraged.
• Connect. First with the Lord. Pray about what is going on. I then usually read something from the Gospels. I read about Jesus going to the home of Zaccheus. That was a good thing He did and He got all kinds of grief for that. Jesus seeing the bent over woman in the synagogue, He saw what no one else saw. Spend time looking at Jesus. There is no better battery charger than Jesus.

• Surround yourself with encouragers. That’s what I do. I have a few dear, dear friends that I sometimes just call and we chat. They have a wonderful way of saying the right thing in the right way. Encouragers do just that, they encourage. They build up. They blow the air into your soul that keeps you going. We need them.

• Take a look at what is being done. Reflect. Consider. Good is being done. Remember the people that have been helped. Remember the lives that have changed. In the midst of a battle we tend to forget the big picture of the war. The war must be won. We are fighting for God.

I don’t know if these things will help you, but they do me. Don’t lose heart. Don’t get weary to the point of quitting. Hang in there…

Roger