Don’t Lose Heart

A friend of mine used to wear a t-shirt with this simple slogan: “God put me on earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind, I will never die.”

That slogan could be said not only of the workplace and family, but also of church ministry, discipleship, and counseling. Like the sentiment on my friend’s t-shirt, when I began pastoring, I thought that if I did my job well, taught with effectiveness so people’s lives were changed, and trained leaders who would expand the work of ministry in the church, that I could effectively work myself out of a job. That might not have happened. Even when our church developed a counseling ministry and raised up more than a dozen counselors and became a training center, we still had a need for more counselors and disciples.

Like the poor who are always present (Matthew 26:11), so there are always changing and growing needs in the church. And that reality can tempt leaders and equippers to despair over the unrelenting nature of the task of caring for others. Perhaps you have been discouraged over a difficult counseling case. Perhaps you have become weary over a counselee that does not seem to be making progress or changing into Christlikeness. Perhaps you are both spiritually and physically tired from the pace of caring for needs—there are just so many burdens.

For those of us who have been weary, are presently weary, or will be weary in the future, which is every servant in the church, hear this word of hopeful exhortation from Paul’s pen—

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

Twice in that verse he exhorts believers, once directly and once indirectly, not to give up and not to be overcome by weariness. And in the verse and the surrounding context Paul helps us evaluate the source of our weariness, and the strength for our weariness.

Some Sources of Weariness  

What provokes weariness? There are many possibilities: it might be the difficulty of caring for those who are unruly, undisciplined, and unresponsive (1 Thessalonians 5:14a). Or perhaps it is the perplexity of knowing how to care for those who are fainthearted or weak (1 Thessalonians 5:14b). Or perhaps it is because we are impatient (1 Thessalonians 5:14c). Or perhaps we actually don’t know how to administer the truth of God to those who are entrusted to us (Romans 15:14).

Those are all potential sources of weariness. But in this section, Paul points to another possibility: weariness sometimes comes from operating from the flesh and not the Spirit. We use man’s ideas—worldly philosophy—to attempt to produce spiritual transformation. Or we operate out of self-will and self-reliance rather than consciously and overtly using the Spirit and the Spirit’s means, which is the Word of God, to help people grow in Christ.

In the context, Paul twice refers to living in the Spirit. In verse one, he exhorts the readers to be spiritual, that is, submissive to the Spirit, before they attempt to help restore a sinning brother to Christ. And in verse eight Paul expands the principle of sowing and reaping (from v. 7) to say that when one lives out of the flesh—worldly philosophy and sinful self-reliance and self-righteousness—he will reap corruption, but when he lives dependently on the Spirit and his Word, then he will reap eternal life.

And building on the idea of sowing and reaping, he then says, “Let us not lose heart . . .” (v. 9). He clearly is suggesting that one source of weariness and losing heart in caring for others is when we operate from the flesh.

That leads us to then ask ourselves, “Is my weariness because I am attempting to do God’s work my way?” Or, “Am I attempting to care for someone’s soul when I am not paying attention to my own heart and the condition of my own soul?” In other words, “Am I ignoring sin in my own life while trying to help someone else with their sin?

Not using God’s provisions for the spiritual care of others will inevitably leave us weary because we are incapable of meeting their needs. In ourselves we are only inadequate (2 Corinthians 2:15–3:6) and when we act as if we are adequate, we will inevitably fail and that will lead to weariness as we repeatedly try to reassert our competency. 

Some Provisions for Weariness

There is a better way.

While the New Testament points to various provisions like obedience and faithfulness to the task (1 Thessalonians 5:12–15), cultivating joy, prayerfulness, and gratitude in every circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18), and being willing to be used up for the sake of Christ (Philippians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:6), this passage suggests two provisions for us in our fight against weariness.

First, in verse one, Paul reminds everyone who cares for others to be attentive to their own hearts first. Only those who are spiritual are fit to care for those who are ensnared by sin. By “spiritual” he does not mean perfect. Paul uses the word “spiritual” to refer to those who are mature, applying the truth of God they know to their own lives and hearts. And he means that they are attentive to sin in their own lives and are not flagrantly ignoring and excusing their own sin. They are “looking to themselves,” examining their own hearts, being attentive to their own spiritual condition so that they are serving others out of the well of faithfulness to Christ. 

When we are weary it is good to examine the basics: am I living dependently on the Spirit (am I praying)? Am I feeding myself on the Word of God? Am I dealing appropriately with all known sin? Am I participating in corporate worship? Feeding our own souls before attempting to feed others will help us care well for others who are in need without becoming overburdened and weary.

Secondly, Paul reminds us that even when we work hard in ministry, we need to recall the truth that “in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary” (v. 9b). In other words, remember the reward(s) for serving Christ. Weariness is fought by remembering the end of the weariness. Like an athlete that endures the rigors of training for the prize of the race (1 Corinthians 9:25–27), so the servant of Christ remembers his reward for those labors.

It is also good to remember that we will not be recompensed according to our work. Christ’s people will be rewarded disproportionately to their work. They will be given far more—infinitely more—than their work warranted. No one will be shortchanged for their efforts. In other words, the Lord will be graciously abundant and overflowing with His care for us in eternity. There may be weariness here, but that weariness is short-lived and always has a termination point. The reward is not only great in quantity, but long in duration—the reward is both infinite and eternal.  

So, when you are tempted by weariness, find consolation and provision by accessing the provision of God in your labors (the Spirit, His Word, and His transformation in you), and by looking to the promise of God’s reward for your labors.