{"id":1104,"date":"2018-10-25T15:32:14","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T15:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/martymachowski.com\/?p=1104"},"modified":"2018-10-25T15:33:59","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T15:33:59","slug":"do-not-grow-weary-of-doing-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/martymachowski.com\/do-not-grow-weary-of-doing-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Not Grow Weary of Doing Good"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u201cAnd let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.\u201d (Galatians 6:9 ESV)<\/p>\n

There are few more reassuring words for a parent than the encouragement found in Galatians 6:9 that we will reap a harvest. While this is not a passage specifically about parenting, the principle of trusting God and not growing weary is directly applicable to that calling. Still, as we walk through serious parenting challenges, the best of us forget Paul\u2019s promise and struggle for the faith to continue. When trials persist, the fog of doubt and unbelief rolls in and blankets us with such a cloud that we cannot see the next step ahead. Have you ever found yourself in such a place? Perhaps your child has thrown repeated tantrums and has become a terror, or you have an older child who speaks spiteful, rebellious words against you. Other parents battle for faith as they care for a chronically ill child. Some children have been exposed to serious sin and parents feel powerless against its lasting effects. In every case, Paul\u2019s message is designed to strengthen us, calling us to \u201cnot grow weary of doing good, for in due season, we will reap.\u201d<\/p>\n

While losing faith in such grave parenting trials seems understandable, we are too often undone by our parenting difficulties. The smallest trial will have us forget the omnipotence of our great God. A toddler who can\u2019t seem to stay in bed but leaves the bedroom a dozen times every evening can make a parent feel like giving up and letting the kids do what they want. But if we give up on such a small thing, what will we do in the midst of greater trials? The key in any parenting trial is trusting our good and faithful God. If we could fully comprehend that he is all-powerful, all-loving, and able to strengthen us and move into our situation, then we would see any trial as small compared to his greatness.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us not grow weary of doing good,\u201d the apostle tells us. Like the farmer who turns over the soil, removes the rocks, and plants the good seed, we must wait for the seed we plant in our children\u2019s hearts to sprout and grow. After the seed sprouts, as the plants inch their way upward, we, like the farmer, must not grow weary in battling the weeds and pests and work to irrigate the field during drought. What motivates the farmer and keeps him from giving up? He has faith that if he does not grow weary, he will reap a harvest in due season. The same is true for us, Paul exhorts us.<\/p>\n

Now, God does not guarantee that the harvest will come in four months, like a farmer\u2019s typical growing season. Our season of cultivation and care is often much longer. What if, in God\u2019s design, the due season he planned for us is not four months, but four years or more? What if the season he has charted out for us is our entire lives? Is it then okay to give up?<\/p>\n

We only give up because we start to believe that there will be no harvest, no good fruit for our labors. While God does not promise us that our harvest will come within a particular timeframe, he does tell us that the harvest will come. That is where the promise from today\u2019s verse is designed to strengthen us. We do not know the length of our \u201cdue season,\u201d but we have this promise: \u201cWe will reap.\u201d No person serving God until the end of their days will be without a harvest to show for their labors. Remember this: You are not responsible for creating the good fruit; you are responsible for continuing to sow the seed. So, do not grow weary in doing good and do not stop in the fight for your kids. Keep sowing, for in due season you shall reap.<\/p>\n