Doing
the right thing takes energy, determination and dedication. The effort
can take a toll on a person over time. So much so that we may be tempted
to slack up or just give up.
It was
that way with the Israelites in Malachi's day. The offerings they were
making to the Lord were not what they should have been because the
Israelites were tired of offering them. In
Malachi 1:13
the Lord levels this charge against them: "You also say, 'Oh, what a
weariness!' 'And you sneer at it,' says the LORD of hosts. 'And you
bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring an offering!'
'Should I accept this from your hand?' says the LORD."
How
much like these Israelites are we? Have we become tired of doing what we
know we should do in the work and worship of the church? Do we even
attend with the regularity that we should? And when we do attend, do we
put our spirits fully into the worship? What about our home lives? Are
we tired of striving to be the husband, wife, parent or child that God
expects us to be? And what about our personal lives? Are we tired of an
ongoing struggle against temptation; a struggle that we to often lose to
our own shame and disappointment? The answer to such weariness is not
quitting. The answer is finding renewed energy and a reason to keep
going.
Here
are three ideas from Scripture that might help you to keep going and
continue serving the Lord with your best even when you are spiritually
tired.
1. Remember Whom you
are serving. The Lord reminded the Israelites that He deserved
better than what they were giving Him. "'I am a great King,' says the
LORD of hosts, 'and My name is to be feared among the nations'"
(Malachi 1:14).
2. Remember the
reward for which you are working. The farmer who quits farming in
the middle of the growing season because it's hot and he's tired is not
going to produce much of a crop. Even so, "let us not grow weary while
doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart"
(Galatians 6:9).
3. Draw strength
from the Lord. God never gets tired. Isaiah asks, "Have you not
known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of
the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary"
(Isaiah 40:28).
Furthermore, "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might
He increases strength"
(Isaiah 40:29). Ask
the Lord to renew your strength. Wait on Him and trust Him to do it! For
"those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount
up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall
walk and not faint"
(Isaiah 40:31).
Yes,
living a righteous life takes a lot of tiring effort. But then, nobody
knows that better than Jesus. He showed us that it can be done! "For
consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself,
lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls"
(Hebrews 12:3).
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