A Word for Servants

It is not always easy hanging in there doing what we know to be the right thing.  While we may not want to say that the word "Quit" is in our vocabulary, the truth is we are well acquainted with it.  Knowing what God wants us to do does not always equate into doing it.  The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians, "So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up."  (Galatians 6:9)  When we start out doing the right thing, it is hard to imagine quitting and giving up, but it happens.

 

In some circles of ministry it is called "burn out."  It is not a term that is hard to define.  When the work before us starts feeling like an unmovable brick wall and our head is the battering ram, we are likely to see ourselves walking away even though it was something we never intended to happen.  Serving Christ and doing what we know to be the right thing takes many forms, but all of them have within them the ability to destroy our determination and send us turning away in frustration and defeat.  One of the reasons we give up on some task to which we have been called is often related to the fact that we get so focused on the task itself that we forget Who it is that sent us. 

 

Looking back is to realize that there were too many moments of trying to do God's work without God being involved.  There were times when it was all about me, my determination, my energy, and my ego.  When we forget to keep our heart and eyes focused on the sending Christ, we are candidates for a frustration that will result in our quitting.  We will grow weary in doing what is right no matter how noble the task unless we stay focused on the One who said, "Go."  He intended for the Holy Spirit to provide the energy for the task and when He gets pushed into the background, the service to which we are called is going to be left undone.