Let Us Not Become Weary

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.”

Weary. Doing good. Proper time. Harvest. Don’t give up. These are the words written by Paul to encourage the Galatians to persevere in their faith, however, they can clearly be the marching orders for moms. Just think, how many times we feel weary from our mothering responsibilities? How often do we just want to give up doing good for our kids? Doesn’t it seem like the harvest may never arrive?

Many of us are overwhelmed caring for children and quickly lose perspective of the importance of the job at hand. We’re distracted by loads of dirty clothes needing washing and hours of homework requiring our input; we’re worn down by broken-hearted tantrums and the ceaseless whines of “It’s not fair!” Motherhood is hard work, requiring long-term vision and a heart determined to serve without question.

Lynn Bowen Walker writes in “Queen of the Castle,”

“Sometimes it’s tempting to take on more public commitments than we can really handle. Let’s face it: clearing the same old clutter off the same old counters and slicing up enough lunchtime apples to circle the globe can get tiresome. The family is not likely to burst into spontaneous applause at the sight of (yet another) clean bathroom sink. But if organizing the bake sale or directing the Christmas play come at the expense of dirty laundry that’s beginning to emit interesting smells from our back room, it may be time to back off from some of our more public activities. Our families pay a price when we are overcommitted. As homemakers, we need to be careful we don’t give away so much of ourselves to the outside community that we have nothing left for the home.”

Walker does a great job describing why we find ourselves overcommitted – we’re drawn to more glamorous opportunities that will pat our backs at a job well done. As mothers, we need to keep our activities in check with our responsibilities to keep from growing weary, and to preserve ourselves for our first ministries: our families. But I’d also like to suggest that another reason that we grow weary: We step away from God and deprive ourselves of the nourishment He provides through His Word and fellowship with believers. We grow weary in our efforts, missing the harvest ahead, because we’re busy trying to accomplish everything in our own strength without ever stopping at the cross of Christ.

If we go back to look at the verse from Galatians, we see that reaping the harvest arrives in “due time”—that is God’s time and because of His work. Our responsibility in the equation, however, is to continue to:

1) do good work – meaning strive to fulfill the call on our lives according to Scripture truths; 2) not give up – do not allow difficult circumstances or challenges cause us to throw in the towel and stop persevering to the end.

As moms, the way we do that is by studying Scripture daily, praying for our children and husbands, committing to Christian fellowship through church and a small group, or even through an online community like Moms of Grace.

We need to nurture our relationship with the Lord through time with Him personally and with the body of Christ. We also need to ask Him to shake up our priorities so that He is first in our lives as we look ahead to the harvest ahead.

Heavenly Father, I pray that you will strengthen us when we become weary and help us persevere to see the harvest ahead. Thank you in advance, Lord, for the work you are doing in us and through us. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Share your Thoughts:
Are you weary? What work have you given up on? Do you need to get time with God and have Him shake up your priorities?