Galatians 6:9: When Weariness Drags Us Down

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Have you ever tried to do something that seems to be of tremendous worth and great benefit to people? Have you ever put your efforts into achieving a goal and accomplishing a task? Have you failed time and time again at those efforts? I thought so. So have I.  It seems that some tasks are Herculean in size and here we are: such small and insignificant people. It may feel that there is only one of us doing this, that you, or I, is the only person in the whole world still striving for that goal.  Attempt after attempt, failure after failure, we start to get discouraged.  Occasionally we see the failure as coming from our efforts – we were not good enough, prepared enough, strong enough, encouraging enough, loving enough, etc. Occasionally we see the failure as coming from outside interference – events transpire to block our efforts, others do things that nullify our efforts, paperwork gets lost in the mail, etc. All of this becomes disheartening after awhile and our enthusiasm flags. Our energy seems to go away and we look once more at this seemingly insurmountable task and are reminded how fragile we are.  Our goals and dreams start to crack, shatter, and then break as we seem to continuously have to start over again.  We become weary and start to give up.

Yes, we can give up. It is all too easy. We raise our hands up and say “This is impossible!” and walk away. I have done it before and so have you. The sad thing is we never know just how close we came to actually completing the task or accomplishing that goal. We gave up because it seemed that everything was against us. At this point I am reminded of that Star Wars scene when Luke Skywalker tries to levitate his starfighter out of the muck of the swamp and fails. In disgust he says that it is impossible. Yoda looks on, shakes his head sadly and while Luke turns away Yoda levitates the spacecraft out of the swamp and over to dry land, passing over Luke's head. Luke sees this and exclaims “I don't believe it!” In his wisdom, Yoda, the mentor gently points out that Luke's disbelief is why he failed.

Yes, we lose our faith and belief in the accomplishment of our efforts and the completion of our goal. We never know how our failure may lead to finishing the goal. Like Thomas Edison, we need to see our failures as discovering yet another way that doesn't work, thus bringing us closer to finding what does!  We can not ever accomplish anything for God without God's help. We can't do anything for Him without His empowerment. We can give up but we need His encouragement, and here in our focus verse we are reminded just how easy it is to give up. Not only that though, we are also shown that yes, we can accomplish the goal! It will happen! Though the gates of hell stand against us, we cannot help but overcome because God is there with us, helping us, empowering us, and teaching us! I can only ask you, before you give up again, to look to God and get His aid. Don't be weary in prayer because that's where things are actually done. When you are ready to give up, push on! When you become weary call a friend, your pastor, myself and pray over it. I promise I will do the same. We are not alone in doing good. There is you and I and the Lord, and that is enough!

To the one who's dreams are falling all apart
And all you're left with is a tired and broken heart
I can tell by your eyes you think your on your own
but you're not all alone

Have you heard of the One who can calm the raging seas
Give sight to the blind, pull the lame up to their feet
With a love so strong he'll never let you go
oh you're not alone
                                                                                        - “Safe” by Phil Wickham c2009

1 Chronicles 16:34; He Deserves Our Thanks

1 Chronicles 16:34 “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

We have a lot of trouble really and honestly giving thanks for things. For the most part I think it is because we feel that we are owed it, that we deserve it and nothing could be farther from the truth. We are owed nothing, and we deserve nothing. All of us are fallen sinners, all of us have our own personal foibles and faults. We know that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23) and that we really do not deserve the mercies and graces that God gives to us each day. We quote Romans 3:23 a lot, but how often do we continue on with the next verse? “and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” It was an undeserved gift, grace and mercy showered down on us event though we deserve the wages of sin, death. The world owes us nothing but pain and misery. Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha and founder of Buddhism  taught that all life is transient and suffering. Christ taught that life has permanence and can be lived in joy despite the trials and suffering we may receive at the hands of men. “Every good gift and every perfect ([a]free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].” (James 1:17 AMP)

We can look about us, at every aspect of our lives and see those good and perfect gifts that God has given us. We have a roof over our heads despite not building it, we have food to eat despite not growing it. We have jobs and employment, a source of income. We have health and maybe the worst we have to deal with right now is a winter cold while others in the world are dealing with Cholera, polio, and whooping cough. We have cars and bikes available to us for transportation while the majority of the world must walk. We had the chance for higher education, we have machines that wash our clothes and our dishes without us having to spend time. We have computers, cell phones, cd players, and game machines! We have a postal service that delivers mail in a timely manner, and does not open or steal from the packages,. We have public servants who are not blatantly corrupt. We have so very much in our lives to be thankful for. We are blessed! We are very blessed indeed!

As we approach Thanksgiving this year, lets start to think about things we can be thankful for. There is so much that we can be thankful for too, everything around is can be a reminder. We are not owed anything, we do not deserve anything, but we have it none the less. In actuality, We owe Him and He deserves our thanks!  His grace, His mercy, His love flows out over us- not just in our salvation, but in every aspect our lives! This week, lets think about all those blessings in our lives that God has given us, and lets give thanks for even the most basic of them!

Thanks to God for my Redeemer,
Thanks for all Thou dost provide!
Thanks for times now but a memory,
Thanks for Jesus by my side!
Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime,
Thanks for dark and stormy fall!
Thanks for tears by now forgotten,
Thanks for peace within my soul!

Matthew 28:20b: Never Alone!

Mathew 28:20b “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Have you ever been alone? Have you felt so totally by yourself despite whoever may be around? That horrible  feeling of complete solitude and separation from everyone else is one of the things we find in ourselves frequently. Each person feels it differently and though while some may enjoy the solitude and others may enjoy the separation from the world, no one likes the feeling of enforced aloneness (despite the fact that most of the time it is only in our head).  How we deal with these feelings are as different as we are as well. However,  sometimes that separation and solitude is good for us. Sometimes that enforced aloneness is beneficial. Occasionally that utter isolation is constructive and profitable for us.  You might be saying to yourself ,“Okay, okay! We get the point, now are you going to tell us why?” and so here is the reason. It is when we as believes find ourselves feeling forgotten and most lonesome that we find that we are not forgotten, we are not alone, and we are not by ourselves. This is not some Zen Buddhist riddle!

I have felt alone and as if I am in the desert - alone in the sea of humanity, just like you have. I was so down in the dumps that as the psalmist wrote “for I eat ashes...and drink tears” (Psalm 102:9 paraphrased). It was in one of these periods of time that as I was crying out to God complaining about the situation when He answered and reminded me that He was there, and had always been there. I just  had come to a point in my life that everyone and everything else was distracting my attention and drowning out His presence in my life. I needed to be reminded and to rediscover His constant companionship.  After I thought about this I was able to look back and see that He was right. Just like in that famous poem, “Footprints in the Sand”, those places where I seemed most alone, He was carrying me.

No matter where you are in life, you are not alone. If you are surrounded by friends, family, neighbors, and a good job remember that God is there with you, walking with you in your life. When you are by yourself and facing seemingly insurmountable problems and everyone seems to have left you remember that God is still there and is most likely the only reason that you are doing as well as you are. He is carrying you through those tough times and you won't even know it. You will always have those times where you will feel rejected, alone, forgotten, and isolated, but God is still there. In times like that you will find when you get to the point that there is absolutely no one around and you are absolutely alone, God will be most near to you.

There’s a peace in my heart that the world never gave,
A peace it cannot take away;
Though the trials of life may surround like a cloud,
I’ve a peace that has come here to stay!

Constantly abiding, Jesus is mine;
Constantly abiding, rapture divine;
He never leaves me lonely, whispers, O so kind:
“I will never leave thee,” Jesus is mine.

Hebrews 13:5b: Our Father is a Constant and Faithful Companion

Hebrews 13:5b “for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'”

Joshua 1:5b “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you”

The thin spider veins of ice and frost remind me more than the change in the weather that the seasons are changing.  Just like the seasons and patterns of weather on earth change though, so too do the seasons of our lives. Sometimes our lives flow from one season to the next seamlessly, melding nearly perfectly to the point that we cannot tell and do not notice that the seasons have changed. Sometimes, however, there are signposts that show the changing times and the changing of our lives: there are graduations, weddings, funerals, getting one's first car, having one's first broken heart,  buying a house, losing a house, and these are just the giant sign posts that everyone can agree on. Often times though, these signs are little ones that sometimes we recognize and sometimes we don't – like the thin strands of ice on my windshield. It could be as simple as being encouraged by someone at a low point in your life, or a harsh word of correction that strikes to your core. It could be waking up one morning to find that your water heater had gone out and the only thing you could do is pray and boil water on the stove. It could be taking a walk outside and seeing the stars clearly. It could be any number of things and for each person those little signs are different.

No matter where you are in life, though, there is one constant. Despite the change surrounding us constantly, there is one thing that does not change and that is Our Lord, our Creator, our Saviour, our God. Just as He promised Joshua to never leave him nor forsake him so to God promised that same promise to us. God offered us a place in His family, and when we accepted His offer, we were adopted into that family. No matter what we do after that, we are still His beloved children. Just because we are stupid at times, just because we make mistakes, just because we are occasionally angry with Him does not change anything. He is our Father and He loves us with an everlasting love that never ends. He won't let us drive Him away in a fit of rage, He won't leave because we disappoint Him.

Lamentations reminds us, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Just like His love, His mercies are unending. Every morning they are renewed and in a sense so are we. In the history of the universe, He has never broken a promise. Every morning is a new day, a new chance, a new life to live. Every day, our heavenly Daddy wants to show us something awesome and cool. Every day He is there to meet us at breakfast, on the drive to school, while we prep nervously for an interview or a presentation. He gives us soft, over the shoulder advice on everything we are involved in. He has never missed a ballgame or a dance recital. He has been there for each of our class plays and theatre performances, no matter how small our role. He was there for the big accident holding our hand in our shaken state. He was there while we cried in the agony of loss. He was there in the excitement of getting that new job or promotion. He has been with us every step of our lives through every season because He Is. He never leaves us or forsakes us. His love continues even when we don't. His mercies overwhelm us. His grace bolsters us in the bad times. He will never leave us. He will never leave you. Promise.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.