Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:9-10, NIV)
It is easy to get discouraged and just plain sick and tired of practicing when we see little evidence of improvement in our golf game. It is also easy to become weary in our spiritual lives when we don’t seem to see much happening as a result of the effort we are putting in to grow deeper in our faith.
He helps us win this battle over our old nature as we step out in faith to do good even when we don’t feel like it.As our scripture today clearly points out, we must wait for the proper time to reap the harvest. When will we see improvement in our game and when will we see the change in our life that we are working to achieve? How many times do we have to repeat the same lesson over and over again? Why does that same person always seem to get us to act in an evil way even though we have prayed and worked and tried repeatedly to overcome that urge. How come they can push our buttons so easily?
The apostle Paul talked about the same strange situation as he experienced it. He very honestly related his experience of not being able to do the things he wanted but finding instead that he did exactly what he didn’t want to do. He called himself a wretched man. We also experience this war in our heart. Our old nature wants its own way and our new nature guides our heart with the help of the Holy Spirit into a new way of thinking and being. It is a fight to the end, but Paul’s words advise us not to get tired as we move forward in our life of faith.
We are encouraged not to give up or quit our efforts to grow and serve the God who has redeemed us into his family. He helps us win this battle over our old nature as we step out in faith to do good even when we don’t feel like it. We just do the best we can, trust in his ability to change us from the inside out, and at the proper time we will see the results of our faithfulness.
God calls us to overcome, not in our strength but in his. He encourages us not to give up or become weary when we don’t see the results right away. There is a due season or a proper time when we will see in fact what we have trusted for in faith. In the meantime, we should continue to practice our golf game and live out our lives doing good to all those around us, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ who are working on the exact same thing. We will harvest a better golf game and we will please the Lord we serve if we pledge not to give up or grow weary enough to quit.
—
Linda Ballard
April 6, 2017
Copyright 2017 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.