Weary from Well-Doing?

As some wise person – or maybe just a wise guy – has observed, the only problem with everyday life is that it’s so daily.

We go through each day, carrying out responsibilities, performing work, handling chores, and working through problems – then we go to bed, get some rest (hopefully), wake up the next morning and start all over again.

Coping with the monotonous present
is sometimes easier with the end in sight.

Even when it’s a newborn baby, a puppy, a new job, being newlyweds, or attaining a different stage in life, the newness eventually fades and sameness replaces it. We find ourselves mired in the mundane.

Other than doing a little gardening in years past, I can’t relate to what life must be for farmers, but they must understand the drudgery of day after day after day as much as anyone. They can’t just till the soil and sow the seed, then bring in the crop the next day. Instead they must work their land, doing all they can to nurture the crop and hope nature cooperates. The same applies to tending livestock. Cows can’t feed themselves – or milk themselves. Chickens won’t gather their own eggs. Sheep need to be shorn regularly, and so on.

So how do we get through the inevitability of every day, with only blips of excitement to punctuate the relentless routine of being a mom or a dad, a worker or an executive, a student, or even an athlete or a performer?

If all we concentrate on is the here-and-now, at times it can be extremely difficult. The “meantime” can seem quite mean when there’s no end in sight. But that’s the key – we need to focus on our goals, the desired end result, not the minutiae we must deal with at the moment.

The same holds true spiritually. Sometimes it seems like we’re taking forever to experience the spiritual growth we desire. Maybe God is finding it necessary to teach us the same hard lessons over and over. Or we pray without seeing any apparent answers. Maybe we’re concerned about a family member or friend, asking the Lord to intervene in their lives, but no progress is evident.

Whatever the case may be, efforts at well-doing can make us downright weary. So again, what are we to do?

We find answers in the Scriptures, which recognize the realities of life, that it’s hard, challenging, frustrating and perplexing. Again and again, we’re told to persevere, trusting an acceptable outcome will come eventually. For instance, we’re admonished, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

A similar verse offers encouragement for those times when we’re engaged in work we hope will count for eternity, even though we’ve seen no evidence of positive results. “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

The ultimate example is Jesus Himself, who from a human perspective had more than enough reason to give up His mission. Yet we’re told we should be, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

What are you facing today? Washing clothes and cleaning the house? Pulling weeds? Coping with a disagreeable boss, or preparing dull, uninspiring quarterly reports? Struggling to achieve healing and restoration in a difficult relationship? Engaging in your regular exercise routine in an attempt to stay healthy? Whatever it is, take your cue from the Scriptures. Remind yourself you will indeed “reap a harvest” if you don’t give up. Keep looking for the end.

Failure – Or Just a First Attempt?

Sometimes social media drives me crazy. The negativity, caustic comments and pompous, partisan pronouncements. And those are just from my friends and family members! (Just kidding.) But there are times when I see a post that makes me think, “That’s it! It says it all!”

One of those was a poster – I don’t know the original source – offering a refreshing take on something we’ve all encountered, probably numerous times: Failure. As a society we seem to have concluded failure’s a bad thing, something to ignore or deny. But as the words of this particular social media poster noted, if we redefine three words typically associated with failure, they can redirect us to success.

The first word was “Fail,” as in, “Woe is me! I’ve failed. How can I ever go on?” But what if we changed the word’s meaning, reinterpreting it as an acronym: “FAIL – First Attempt In Learning”? This brings to mind the adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

There’s not one successful person living or dead who has avoided failure. But a big difference between those that later experienced success and those who remained mired in misery was a matter of perception. Those consigned to failure saw their efforts as meaning, “I can’t do it. I knew I couldn’t!” However, those able to leverage momentary failure into later success perceived their setbacks differently: “Well, that didn’t work. I’ll just have to try again, or take a different approach.”

A second word is “End.” A time of failure or defeat can be viewed as the end, an indication to give up. “No sense trying anymore.” Or it can be regarded as another acronym: “END – Effort Never Dies.” If every baseball player quit the first time he or she struck out, no one would be playing the game. Consistent and persistent effort often leads to proficiency and success.

Granted, there are times when we attempt something unsuccessfully and realize we haven’t enjoyed it, that it wouldn’t be worth the effort trying to become proficient. It might be painting, dancing, handicrafts, public speaking, sales, or some other pursuit. (For some people, this might include driving a car.) But even in cases like these, considering this the “end” might simply mean determining to do something else instead.

Then there’s one more word often associated with failure. It’s the dreaded “No” word. This was something I confronted while still in college, experimenting with a couple of part-time sales jobs to try and earn some extra money. After hearing “no” on several consecutive sales calls for both a book publishing company and a vacuum cleaner manufacturer, I realized I wasn’t cut out for a career in sales. Years later it was confirmed that I don’t have a single selling bone in my body.

But as with “Fail” and “End,” looking at “No” in a different way could prove revolutionary in moving toward the future. Instead of assuming that no is the equivalent of failure, we might it as yet another acronym: “NO – Next Opportunity.”

This is particularly true for job seekers. Over the years I had numerous interviews that did not lead to job offers. Resumes I sent out with high hopes didn’t merit as much as a return phone call. But I persisted, determining that if one door closed, another would open somewhere else. And as it turned out, after receiving a “no” more times than I would have liked, the “next opportunity” proved to be better than I could have imagined.

Knowing our tendency to become disheartened when confronted by failure, God offers many passages that encourage us to “keep on keepin’ on.” One of my favorites is Galatians 6:9, which urges, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (lose heart).”

Sometimes our spiritual pursuits also seem paved with failure. But again we’re reminded to persevere: “Therefore, my brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). As with trying to grow a garden, when we must wait patiently to see tomatoes or green beans or whatever seeds we’ve planted finally germinate, we might not see immediate results from our spiritual labors. But we know that in time we’ll reap a harvest – in our own lives and in the lives of people God directs our way.

We also have this promise to cling to when failure seems certain: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). Sounds like good news – especially since God never fails.