One of my favorite things about the fall season is harvest time. Last week as I was driving through town, I came across a combine harvesting soybeans and had to pull over to watch and reminisce. I grew up on a farm where I got to see harvest take place every year.
Harvest time on a farm was a busy season full of hard work but yielding rewards. The farmer would get to see the fruits of his labor and know a time of rest was coming soon after a full season of work.
Watching that field being harvested reminded me of Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
This verse starts with the phrase “let's not become weary in doing good.” Imagine if a farmer got tired during the planting season and decided it wasn’t worth it to finish planting the seeds in the ground. Or, if the farmer got weary fighting weeds during the season and let his crop go to waste. The fruitful harvest only comes after a season.
A full growing season takes time, perseverance, and hard work. It is after the full season and at the proper time that the harvest will come, only if the farmer doesn't give up.
The same is true for us. Momma, wife, friend, Christ-follower, let's not become weary or tired or discouraged in doing good! Your children need you to continue, your spouse needs you to endure, your friend needs your support, and Jesus needs us to continue to fight the good fight.
I don’t know about you but sometimes I get tired of doing the right thing. Just last night while putting forth the energy to spend time with my kids at bedtime I grew weary and just wanted to go to bed myself. All 3 kids were needing my attention and wanted to talk and it was dragging on the dreaded bedtime process. I heard this quiet voice reminding me, don’t give up, they are worth it and need your love and patience tonight!
The last part of the verse says, “at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”. When God decides and only in His timing, we will receive a harvest of blessing.
Just like the farmer receives a check and a reward for his crop at the end of the season. We will receive a reward from God if we do not quit!
Momma, don't give up! Keep planting those seeds of love and patience and kindness in your child. Eventually, you will start to see small seeds of fruition such as a sweet thank you when you least expect it or a note from a teacher sharing Godly characteristics from a child. Take note of those as "Godwinks" and praise the child for that behavior.
Sweet wife, don’t grow weary. Keep respecting your spouse, prayerfully you will begin to see him show you more love.
The harvest will come but it probably won't be in our timing and may not even be on this earth. We may have to wait to see some of the fruits of our labor when we get to heaven.
What to do when feeling weary and burdened?
1. Go to the ONE that never gets tired or weary, God!
He will give us the strength we need to endure and soar. Isaiah 40:28-31 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
He is the provider of our strength and when we come to Him He gives us the rest we need. Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”.
2. Keep a proper perspective.
Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Knowing our purpose which is to Know God and to make Him Known, helps us keep a proper perspective. The life we are living on this earth is temporary. As Christians, we have hope through Jesus that our eternal home is with Him in heaven.
With that in mind, it helps us focus on doing good for Jesus because we want others to know about our glorious home in heaven that comes from a relationship with Jesus! Having a proper purpose in mind encourages us to persevere in doing good to serve the Lord.
3. Put on our oxygen masks first.
To be able to love and care for others we have to allow ourselves to have the proper care first. This starts with our relationship with Jesus. Very often in the Bible, you will notice Jesus getting away from others to spend time with his Heavenly Father in prayer. If this was a priority for Jesus, how much more do you think we are to do the same? God desires for us to spend time with Him in prayer and Bible reading. This is how He speaks to us and through it helps us refuel on the oxygen we need to continue to do good.
4. Remember He is Faithful.
When you are weary from doing good, go back and recall times when you have watched God be faithful in your life. Keep a journal or online notes of times you have seen God at work so that you can go back and reflect on his faithfulness.
If you are a mom and feeling weary I would love to invite you to join me for Fearless Moms! Text MOM to 314-926-9948 to be on our Fearless moms text list. See the details and register here: https://www.fearlessunite.com/fearless-moms
With love,
This is really good! May I add that while the harvest benefits the farmer in that he receives his reward, the fruit benefits others. There is great joy in recognizing that doing good has a reward… but that reward is not for me alone! No! It’s powerful to recognize our labor is for the benefit of others. That is why God gives us gifts… the fields in which to sow and the variety of seeds to plant and the unique methods by which we plant them. Step into your glory! God has made you and equipped you to plant and harvest in fields and with crops other’s cannot. It’s for others’ benefit, God’s Glory, and you are blessed by it!