In the Face of Weariness

 

“As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.”

(2 Thessalonians 3:13 ESV)

 

As we live the Christian life, we sometimes become tired. We become tired as we witness the evil taking place in the world around us. We become tired as we deal with the sin of those who surround us. We become tired as we’re confronted by the ire of the unbelievers in our midst. We become tired as we deal with conflict and strife in the church. We become tired as we deal with our own struggle with sin. And we become tired as it seems to us that our efforts are futile.

 

Our natural response, in this fatigue, is to give up. Our natural response is to stop trying. Our natural response is to, at best, do nothing. And our natural response, at worst, is to live, behave, and believe like those among whom we abide.

 

Throughout the book of 2 Thessalonians, Paul had been talking to this congregation about the return of Christ. He talked about the Lord’s judgment. He talked about false prophecies and false christs. The talked about the man of lawlessness, and the disruption he’ll bring to the world. And he talked about those who confess faith in Christ while living a life of idleness.

 

As we read these words, it’s easy for us to understand how the Thessalonians may have grown tired. It’s easy to understand why they might want to give up. But in light of these truths, and in light of these circumstances, Paul called on them to press on.

 

He told them that they were not to grow weary in doing good. They’re not to tire of doing that which is good. In other words, they were to continue in their service of the Lord. No matter how things may have seemed, they were to continue to live as they had been called.

 

The same message speaks to us, today, right where we find ourselves. Rather than losing all hope and giving up, we’re to press on. We’re to continue living as we have been called. We are to continue in our service of the Lord, and we are to continue loving our neighbor, no matter how fruitless it may seem.

 

We are to do so knowing that it is never truly fruitless. We are to do so, bearing in mind the encouragement that he gave to the church of Corinth in 1 Corinthians 15:58, where he says: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

 

Serving the Lord is never empty. It’s never meaningless. No matter how things may seem, God is faithful to do his work, and he is faithful to work through us, that his purpose might be accomplished.