Do not lose heart

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.

Paul cautions the Galatians to be aware of their own actions and to stop trying to compare themselves to others. We are responsible to God and not others.  Paul tells them their actions should be in obedience to God and not influenced or directed by their sinful nature. Their influence should be through the Holy Spirit and the same should be for us today. In yielding to our sinful nature, the results will reap destruction. When we seek to please His Spirit, the result is we have eternal life.

In verse 9, Paul challenges us not to give up and to look forward to the harvest we will reap some day. I have tried to be intentional in seeking Him, obeying Him and following Him.  Despite some health issues we have encountered throughout our lives, we have not given up on God and God has not given up on us. At times we have become annoyed at God. This was my fault because He was not following my plan.  I believe we go through trials throughout our lives and then some happy times in our lives. I believe God does give us more trials as part of our normal to draw us to Him. When our lives are somewhat more normal, we can tend to ignore Him. Some of our health issues are not one-time fixes, including cancer, kidney stones and Patti’s hot flashes. God always surprises us and our waiting always leads to His blessing when we do not give up.

During this week, pray, seek His direction, His perspective and decide to intentionally do one of the following. Start a prayer list you can use for your prayer time, use a small notebook and a column for answered prayer. The reference for this verse is on the inside of our wedding rings. Let us not give up or lose heart in:

• a struggling relationship
• a current job situation
• raising your kids
• home life
• finances
• church