Relief for Exhausted Christians

I suppose if Paul had been a real man, he would never have written Galatians 6:9: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not.” Real men do not faint. They always have it together. Real men do not lose heart. They have all the answers. Real men speak, and it is done, for wives and children exist to obey their every command.

                But in God’s world, the strongest men and women become weary, even exhausted. Sowing and reaping in his kingdom, against the flesh and the devil, are hard, painful, personal work. Effort and time are required to plow up the hard ground of our hearts and lives, sow the seed, water it with the word and prayer, and watch for the tender shoot – then care for it patiently.

                God’s paradigm of sowing and reaping is neither solved nor circumvented by any podcast, book, or conference. God has set up the conditions for growth, and those conditions require watchfulness, faithfulness, prayer, and patience – as our Lord Jesus lived, the true God-man. God’s paradigm crosses generational lines. What counts with him is not “getting it done” and “change,” but “patient continuance in well-doing.” What one generation sows, the next reaps, while it sows for the future.

                Why do the strongest believers sometimes become spiritless, as weary suggests? We forget to keep Jesus Christ as our first love. When we neglect communion with him, the focus becomes our sowing and its difficulties, not our Master and his strength. When we neglect him and depend upon ourselves, we lose sight of heaven and the crown our Savior holds out to us. We work to get it done, not to honor him. We begin working in our own strength, sowing in our own wisdom. We cannot bear this burden. We lose heart. There is no strength outside of union and communion with the Vine.

                This is the reason the Holy Spirit exhorts us to resist becoming exhausted. Verse 9 suggests ways to resist. First, remember we are doing good, like our Savior (Acts 10:38). In a dark world, we shine as light, like Him. What a privilege to labor with Christ! Second, we shall reap in due season. We are not in control of the fruit cycles of our lives. We are promised much fruit, but we must trust the Lord of the harvest. Are you discouraged, Christian, by the lack of fruit in a given area in your life? Trust the Savior to give you fruit in due season, when he deems best, after you have sowed patiently, faithfully, humbly.

                Third, since the harvest is promised, sow and trust the Father’s master gardening abilities (John 15:1). We may sow today in tears, but we shall reap tomorrow with joy (Ps. 126:5). This is his promise. Are we trusting him? Trust implies knowledge of his promises and assurance of his faithfulness. Trust leads to prayer, praying the promises, asking the Lord to fulfill them, relying upon the personal mediation of Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:3). Third, trust implies action – keep doing well, as verse 10 says. A lazy farmer starves. A lazy Christian withers.

                When we are exhausted, let us remember that the Lord is never weary (Isaiah 40:28). He is the eternal Creator. He knows and understands everything, including us. The One who holds us in his nail-pierced hands is never tired. Rest and recover in his wondrous love, his strength, his promises. The Lord has the plan and knows what he is doing (v. 28). We face many sowing-reaping obstacles. Kingdom tares are always with us – be skeptical of those who promise they have found a parcel of ground without tares. The Lord gives us crosses so that we learn to overcome by faith and depend upon his strength.

                He gives strength to the weary (vv. 29-30). Notice the word to alpha-males – young men also grow weary and faint, utterly fall. Therefore, all must wait upon him. We wait by attending upon him in prayer and asking him for strength – constantly (Ps. 105:4). We wait, as Calvin once wrote, by never moving ahead one inch unless we are persuaded that the Lord is leading us, going before us. Trust him, not yourself, not your strength, not your favorite talkers. Seek Him. He will renew you. He restores strength. He has all the strength we need to recover when we are exhausted.