An obstacle we all face in the race of life is weariness. We just get tired; tired of the struggle and effort. Every runner knows the battle they must fight against weariness. In Galatians 6:9 Paul encourages us not to give in to weariness. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Marathon runners are keenly aware of the battle with weariness. Steve was excited to be running in Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth. The race began, as all races do, with a rush of excitement and adrenaline. Part way through the race Steve started thinking that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. He felt like giving up the race. At one point the battle was so great that he was ready for Jesus to come and take him home. But Steve didn’t give up. He was determined to finish the race. As he neared the finish he noticed three old ladies sitting by the side of the road in lawn chairs. One of them was crocheting. As he passed by, without looking up, she said in a deep voice, “Bring it on home. Bring it on home.”
Paul encourages us to not stop short of the goal but to bring it on home. Weariness plagues all of us from time to time. We are a tired nation. The promise of technology was that it would make our lives easier. Instead it has made our lives more complicated. We live at a faster pace today than we ever have in history. There is now so much more to do that we talk today about the importance of multi-tasking. This fast paced, overloaded life is making us weary. Dr. Richard Swenson, in his book The Overload Syndrome, shares the following insight.
“It is perhaps true that Americans get less sleep than at any other time in history. In 1850, for example, the average American got 9.5 hours of sleep per night. By 1950, that had decreased to 8 hours. Currently, it is 7 hours – and still declining. As a result, fifty to seventy million Americans (depending on which study you read) have sleep disorders.” (The Overload Syndrome, page 126)
Along with the challenges of physical weariness we face emotional and spiritual weariness as well. Sometimes doing the right things is hard and takes effort. Trying to follow Christ in practical ways is not always exhilarating. Many times it is draining as we dig deep to give all we have to the cause of Christ. Along the way we can become discouraged when our efforts do not seem to be rewarded. We are so much an instant society that when we do not see immediate results from our efforts we feel deflated. Paul challenges us to not become weary in doing good deeds.
We can fight weariness by keeping our focus along the way. Hebrews 12:2-3 encourages us to maintain the proper perspective. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:2-3 NIV)
Weariness comes when we lose sight of the goal; when we expect results prematurely. We can get impatient during the race. We are much like young children on a long car ride. Every parent has had this experience at some time. You have only begun the journey when your children begin asking the inevitable question, “Are we there yet?” That is the way we often are with God. We have hardly begun the race before we are complaining about how long it takes. We start questioning if we will ever see any results. Paul reminds us that we will reap a harvest at the proper time if we don’t give up. One of the laws of the harvest is that it takes time for things to grow and mature. You cannot plant seeds today and expect mature plants tomorrow. Like farmers we must be patient for the harvest to come at the proper time. We cannot hurry the process.
The harvest also depends on following through. A gardener who plants seed but then neglects the garden cannot expect to get a good harvest. In fact if he neglects the garden completely he will probably get no harvest at all. Spiritually we will never realize our full potential if we stop short of the goal. Part of the race is cultivating the fruit of the Spirit so that we can reach our full potential in Christ. We cannot stop at the beginning, we must continue through the entire course.
Don’t let spiritual weariness rob you of your rewards. Almost everyone faces discouragement and the temptation to quit. Athletes face times of discouragement as their training gets harder and they don’t immediately see the results they want to see. Musicians face discouragement when they have difficulty mastering a particular piece of music. Students face discouragement when a subject they are studying does not come as easily for them as they would like. Discouragement and weariness are a normal part of the race of life. True growth and maturity come by fighting through the weariness. The athlete, the musician, the student who fight through difficulties discover success on the other side. This is true spiritually as well. There are lessons to be learned and skills to be developed. These are shaped and formed in the crucible of difficulties, hardships and weariness.
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