Daily Goodness

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:9-10).

No fruit. No results. The mess just increases. The wicked seem to prosper; your next door neighbor who stays home and sleeps in on Sundays and doesn’t care if there is a God prospers—he must cheat on his tax return or something. He doesn’t seem to have financial worries while your bills seem to tower with crushing weight. The teen girl you were helping mentor just seems to be getting into more trouble and demanding more worry from you. Your aging parent needs more help but just seems to complain, adjure, and to encroach more; no word of appreciation. Caving into despair as joy in illness just seems to require too much energy. Bible reading—why when the children need to be fed and the house cleaned and emails answered and the phone is ringing and you can’t find the Bible under the laundry?

“And let us not grow weary in doing good…..” Another to-do thing on the list. Another visit where you just seem to drag yourself there and away. Fruitless. Paul himself was writing this in the context of one of the fiercest letters of his. He had poured himself out to the Galatians. But now he cries, “My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you” (Gal. 4:19-20). For his ministry among them seemed to be in vain, “I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain” (Gal. 4:11). Bewitched and enslaved! So fruitless and backslidden Paul could only use such strong words to describe what must have happened! “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” (Gal. 3:1; 5:1).

The Galatians themselves must have grown weary in doing good, in walking the paths of the gospel. They were weary of being persecuted (Gal. 4:29). Weary of walking by faith and grace, “having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3). Weary of suffering for faith, “Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?” (Gal. 3:4).

It is not a light word that Paul speaks—a word of comfort spoken by one perplexed and persecuted believer to another group of persecuted and perplexed believers. They are words that echo today still to our needs as we care for aging parents, help needy individuals, serve God, read the Bible, fight for joy in cancer and illness, seek to be good stewards of finances, etc.Words that bear much weight in trying circumstances and suffering, in temptations. When one continually says no to that persistent temptation and it keeps on coming. When the prayers seem to fall on bronze heavens. When the other doesn't change. When circumstances get worse. Or just the daily no one notices.

It is a real danger. The Galatians themselves had apparently seen Spirit-wrought miracles among them (Gal. 3:5). Yet, here they were ready to relapse into deeds of the flesh and/or legalism (Gal. 3:10; 5). New creatures, we are still coming out of the inward-self curve of sin. Created anew, the old patterns still show themselves. Legalism seems to be the default of all of our hearts, giving us control. It makes logical sense—if I work hard, I’ll get gain.

And that was perhaps one of the problems. Certainly we can grow weary in doing good for a number of reasons—our finitude, suffering, persecution, etc. Yet, sometimes we can start to do good out of flesh. Under legalism. We put in time and energy and expect a return. We give and expect praise. We do it to earn the favor of man (or of God). Not all works of the flesh appear bad, they can be “circumcision” and religious works as well (Gal. 5). And we grow weary because the crop we expected is delayed.

* As stated, there are many reasons to grow weary in doing good. How are you growing weary? What plagues you?

It is hard to walk by faith, to wait for the harvest by faith. The Old Testament Israelites never saw the full Promised Land realized or the mighty King of God promised. The heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 never saw the city God was promising, the waited promise, the perfection awaiting them and us. We too await a reward by faith (Heb. 11:6) and a promise we don’t grasp. Our justice and vindication awaits. We grow weary.Like Jeremiah and Job, we yell out and cry deceived! Not fair! We can't! Why such suffering? Why such little fruit? Why so much waiting? Where is the reward? Just a little glimpse of something, Jesus.

* What makes faith difficult for you? How do you turn to the elementary principles of this world, legalism, works of the flesh, weariness, etc?

But in our weariness, let us not forget Christ. The author of Hebrews after talking about the heroes of faith immediately points us to Christ, who ran the race—therefore, strengthen our weak knees (Heb. 12). Paul throughout Galatians points to the Spirit given by Christ and our status in Christ (Gal. 3:1-5; Gal. 4; Gal. 5).

Christ had to persevere and endure (Heb. 12:1-3; 2 Thes. 3:5; Heb. 2:17-18; Heb. 5:8; Heb. 4:15-16). When we fail, he covers us. Grace, grace. Our stumbling knees, our pouty lips, our skinned knees, our falling by the side of the road, our tears of exhaustion, our fists raised in weariness, is covered. Forgiven. Bound up. The same God we poutily ask why, demand that he change the circumstances, yell we cannot, himself wipes our tears and cleanses our wounds and carefully wraps a bandage. Wraps his own perfection around our own stumbling. And the miracle ointment is by the Spirit, his own character of perseverance is being worked out in us.

Moreover, Christ has a daily ministry to us. He does good to us every single moment. He supplies our breath this second. He is interceding for us right now (Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:34). He is preparing a place for us right now (Jn. 14:1-2). He is working in us to will and to do right now to complete his good work in us (Phil. 2:12-13 and 1:6). Weary? Your strength is not your own. Supplied. Sustained. Granted. The Eternal Life, the Source of all, IS dwelling in you, IS working in you, HIS power is at work in your mortal body (Col. 2:28-29; Eph. 3:21; 2 Cor. 4).

* Pause for a minute. How is Christ in this very moment doing good to you?

Now. Right in this minute. When your burdened by bills, crushed by demands of life, seeing no light at the end of the tunnel, when there is no harvest, Christ is doing good to you still. Breathe in his goodness, breathe out praise.

Really, we can’t do anything apart from him anyway (Jn. 15:5). Our good is his life, his power, his works flowing through us. We don’t have to contrive the energy or the resources out of our own bankrupt selves, but we let him flow through us. He who is doing good to us, he does good through us to others. He who has the fullness of goodness and love overflows through us. Take heart, weary hands! You are his!