And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. – Galatians 6:9
There are days when I feel like giving up on trying to make a difference because I wonder if I’m making any difference at all. Maybe you can relate. These thoughts and feelings aren’t random, they are intentional. They are the work of the enemy trying to bring us down so he can shut us down. One of the weapons he wields most frequently is the battle-axe of discouragement. Satan wants to convince us that our doing good isn’t actually doing much good. He will skew the facts, point to the wrong metric, and mislabel our actions as failures. But God doesn’t measure our success by social media likes, comments and shares. God sees us quietly toiling behind the scenes loving Him by loving others and measures our success not by our fruitfulness or fanfare, but our faithfulness. It should bring a smile to our faces knowing that what we do brings a smile to His face when we do it for the good of others and the glory of His Name. When we struggle for the motivation to continue down the sometimes long and lonely road of serving, let us remember that we serve an audience of one. The enemy wants to discourage us, but be of good cheer … Jesus has wrested the battle axe from his hands and has given us the Armor of God to press on in doing good. It is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us! By His sustaining grace, His empowering resolve, His enabling strength, His guiding leadership, and His motivating cheer, let us continue to fight the good fight of faith. Nothing we do for His kingdom will ever be in vain. Therefore… Let us not lose heart or lose hope. Let us not slow down or shut down. Let us not give up or give in. Let us listen for the applause of heaven. Now we hear from a distance, but someday in His presence.
