“So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit” (Galatians 6:9, The Message)
Let’s keep the fun in summer! Never, ever give up. Prayer for fortitude and keep the flame of faith as your guide. Be sure to remind yourself about the awesome God you serve while doing good!
thedailylily.com 
Let’s not forget fatigue may manifest itself in many different ways.
Footnotes for verses 9 & 10 in Galatians says: “It is discouraging to continue to do right and receive no word of thanks or see no tangible results. But Paul challenged the Galatians, and he challenges us to keep on doing good and to trust God for the results. In due time, we will reap a harvest of blessing.”
I think the key is what Sara mentioned here….”remind ourself about the awesome God we serve”, if we lose that focus, then it is so easy to let this old fleshly body become fatigued, in doing good.
The part of the scripture that says, “let’s not allow ourselves” indicates to me that we have a responsibility to bar fatigue from interfering with our doing good. Allow (some definitions) meaning: make it possible; give permission; make a possibility; make a possibility.
Needles told us it was “so easy to let” this happen.
An attitude, a thought, a spoken word (‘I feel tired, stressed, discouraged’, etc, etc) that takes us away from the focus Needles writes of would probably open the door to fatigue and stop the progress of doing good. This must be why Sara tells us to pray for fortitude and the flame of faith.
I do like the part a lot that in due season we will receive our harvest. Imagine what it would be like to be in need and not have a harvest to look forward to. Heavenly farming should give us great joy and reward. I believe that is why the enemy of our soul works so hard to make us weary and fatigued so we will give up and he takes our rewards.
“Will not the just Judge of all the earth judge justly? He will reward for all the good in heart that one does.” The Lord does know the heart, the attitudes of our minds and our deeds and actions…whether they are ‘showboating” or divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. We may not see it immediately. The reward may come in another form or from someone or somewhere that we did not expect or foresee. But He is not late and He, alone, knows “DUE SEASON”. It may not be our timing (rarely is ) but He is always right on time….maybe last minute but still “due season”. We must keep on trucking and plowing and planting and expecting the harvest.
The Lord spoke to my heart and impressed on me what is meant by ‘JUST IN TIME’. It means that the Lord is JUST in HIS timing. For example…when Lazarus was ill and they told Jesus, he WAITED for the right Timing to go to him after he was already dead! So that a miraculous deed was accomplished to give great glory to God…the rising from the dead that Jesus affected in Lazarus’ case.
In STREAMS it tells of the apostles laboring and toiling on a stormy sea. Jesus saw it but not until the right timing did He walk across the water and calm the seas to bring glory to His Father and confirm His divinity to His apostles who would later become the sowers, planters and reapers of the Body of Christ.
God is always “Just In Time”.
I agree Sara that Satan wants to wear us down.
“And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High” Daniel 7:25 ASV Rev 12:12 NIV says: “Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
That is why the scripture you posted and the prayer is so timely to counter the attack…the devil is on a short schedule but God’s schedule keeps ahead of his.
“and keep the flame of faith as your guide”…Read with me in Hebrews (3: 12-14) “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other everyday, while it is still ‘today’, so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are FAITHFUL to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.” Now listen to the footnotes for these verses: “Our hearts turn away from the living God when we stubbornly refuse to believe him. If we persist in our unbelief, God will eventually leave us alone in our sin. But God can give us new hearts, new desires, and new spirits (Ezekiel 36: 22-27). To prevent having an unbelieving heart, stay in fellowship with other believers, talk daily about your mutual faith, be aware of the deceitfulness of sin (it attracts but also destroys), and encourage each other with love and concern.”
Needles, I see the double daily, warn and talk, is a pivotal key point to keeping the ‘flame of faith’ as your guide.
When I read your footnotes it makes me stop and give thanks for those that warn me and those that take the time to talk daily with me about my faith.
The Lord does give many warnings when He sees we might be going astray. He brings us back to the Cross and the blood and rebukes the enemy through godly counsel, prayer and repentance. Hebrews 12: 11-15 speaks about this. “For now, discipline seems harsh and grievous and very painful but afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. By the training of the Word it to come into conformity with God’s will, purpose thought and action. So brace up and bear up, resisting evil imaginings, resisting the atrocious thoughts that come to your mind to distract you and discourage your recovery & restoration and make firm & straight paths for your feet that won’t get you tripped up again as you journey into the mission and purpose for which God has made you.”
What a wonderful God Who has given us everything we need for goodness and godliness; a way to repent; a way to recover; a way to be restored and go on with what He’s given us to do. I praise the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and thank Him for His goodness, Justice and the Glory that exposes and restores.
Needles writing of the warning and prevention of unbelief shows the importance of believing God and the benefits of it.
Romans 4:3 says: ““Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And Romans 4:20-22 says:
“He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
In currently reading Charles Surgeon’s book on prayer and Spiritual Warfare, I quote the following paragraph:
“And if it should so happen that we ourselves become distressed and dispirited and we feel we never were so weak as we are now, never mind, friends; still hold on. for when the sinew is shrunk, the victory is near. Grasp with a tighter grip than ever. Let this be our resolution: “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” Remember, the longer the blessing is in coming, the richer it will be when it arrives. That which is gained speedily by a single prayer is sometimes only a second-rate blessing; but that which is gained after may a desperate tug, and many an awful struggle, is a full-weighted and precious blessing.
The children of persistence are always fair to look upon. The blessing that costs us the most prayer will be worth the most. Only let us be persevering in supplication, and we will gain a broad, far-reaching blessing for ourselves, the churches, and the world. I wish it were in my power to stir you all to fervent prayer, but I must leave it with the great Author of all true supplication, namely, the Holy Spirit. May He work in us mightily for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
I have read the scripture in Ezekiel, referenced in my comment above and have read the footnotes for verses 25-27. Read with me, the footnotes, “God promised to restore Israel not only physically but spiritually. to accomplish this, God would give them a new heart for following him and put his Spirit within them ( see 11: 19, 20; Psalm 51: 7 – 11) to transform them and empower them to do his will. Again the new covenant was promised (16: 61-63; 34: 23-25), ultimately to be fulfilled in Christ. No matter how impure your life is right now, God offers you a fresh start. You can have your sins washed away, receive a new heart for God, and have his Spirit within you – if you accept God’s promise. Why try to patch up your old life when you can have a new one?”
Keep the Flame of Faith as our guide” as our map. How easy it is to lose focus in this crazy world of distractions? As soon as we lose our focus, we become exhausted. When we allow our flesh to guide us, we have a battle on our hands.Our flesh is full of lust, pride,greed, ect. After, allowing our flesh to guide us and speak for us, it may lead to a feeling of guilt and sorrow and depression. When we allow flesh to lead us,we are battling satan, the world and the ugly side of ourselves without armor or help. (King James) Gal.5:16 This I say, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do things that ye would.” When we take our eyes off the road we will wreak our vehicle.We lost our focus of the road. If we take our eyes off Jesus we will wreak our Spirit. We lost our focus. So we must allow the Holy Spirit to lead us keeping the flame of faith lite and continue running the race. Continue doing God’s will and God’s works without fatigue of our body and Spirit. We must continue pushing ourselves until our race of life is complete.
Thanks, beautiful watered living lilies. With the heat index at 108 one thinks of sitting down and forgetting it. But, with water and water one can complete their task. Thanks for the encouragement.
“Keeping this in mind, we should stop going over the elementary truths about Christ and move on to topics for more mature people. We shouldn’t repeat the basics about turning away from the useless things we did and the basics about faith in God.( Hebrews 6:1) Let’s become mature in Christ Jesus.
In Philippians, Paul sets an example for us….”Forgetting what lies behind I press forward to the high calling of Christ Jesus.” What liberty! Paul exhorts to forget the waywardness, the sins, the failures, the repenting again and again about the same mess ups and sins and start pressing forward into Jesus Christ and maturing into the holy life He has called us to.
King James Bible
Needles comments said above, “be aware of the deceitfulness of sin”… and chickenfarmer said, “If we take our eyes off Jesus we will wreak our Spirit.”.
Romans 7:11 says sin does deceive us. And I Peter 5:8 says:”Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Jesus was always obedient and was able to resist the devil through His obedience to the Father. Obedience is absolutely necessary to keep sin’s door shut and the devil out.
Obedience is better than sacrifice and whole burnt offerings. It says in 1Cor.13. “If I give my body to be burned as a sacrifice, if I do all the good deeds, feeding the poor & helpless but do not have the God-kind-of love, I am nothing, get nothing for it. Love = obedience to God’s Word and the promptings of the Holy Spirit. If we miss that, we can work our heads off, weary ourselves, sacrifice ourselves till Jesus returns but we will have nothing without the love that Jesus commands. “If you love Me you will obey Me.:
Help us Lord to be obedient in the small things as well as the big things and to face it, admit it, change and repent immediately & turn around when we miss it/sin. Thank you Lord, in Jesus’ Name.
Keeping our eyes on Jesus, who Hebrews 12:2 says is the author and finisher of our faith, will help us keep that flame of faith. glowing.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Heb 12:1-2