Devotion for Today "Don't Grow Weary" 2 Thess. 3:14
The story is told of a minister who was full of energy and enthusiasm
for the Lord. One day he went to the hospital to visit one of his
parishioners who was critically ill. The minister entered the room and
saw the man lying in bed with a whole host of tubes and wires attached
to his body. Without any delay the minister strode to his bedside and
began to exhort him to be of good cheer. Soon the man became agitated
and started to wave his arms. This encouraged the minister, and so he
exhorted him more and more enthusiastically. Finally the minister ended
with a rather lengthy prayer. At the final "Amen" the minister opened
his eyes just in time to see the man reach for a pad of paper and a
pencil. Quickly he wrote something and handed it to the minister. Then
the man turned his head and died. The minister was deeply moved to
think that his visit to this man had occurred in the nick of time. Then
he looked at the pad and read these words: "You are standing on my
oxygen tube!!!"
It could be that someone or something has been standing on your "oxygen
tube" lately and while you are still faithful to the Lord and doing
what you can to serve Him, it might seem as though all of the "life"
or enthusiasm has gone out of you, too. Perhaps you feel like you are
"going through the motions" just now- doing what you can to get by, but
you sure don't feel like doing it. This is a common symptom of what
some would call "burn-out." Others will have other terms for it:
depression, fatigue, "mid-life" crisis, laziess, boredom, and many
others. I call it just good, old-fashioned discouragement (except that
there is nothing really good that can be said about it). Discouragement
is a constant, spiritual battle among Christians who desire to follow
their Lord and yet the life to which He calls us is not easy. The life
of service we give to Him we think ought to be appreciated. It is
certainly appreciated by the Lord, but people do not understand it,
or value it, much less appreciate it. This, combined with the human
tendency to always look for meaningful results in "nickles and noses"
can be the perfect equation for discouragement.
I thought about this one evening after my children begged me to spend
time with them- but felt duty bound to call upon a family whom I sensed
needed Christ and with whom I had made a previous appointment. When
I arrived, I found that they were not at home. The thought of the
gasoline that I burned, the time wasted, and the relationship with my
own family chiseled away at tempted to fuel the fires of discouragement.
However, the Apostle Paul exhorts us in 2 Thessalonians 3:13: "But as
for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good." The weariness that
we encounter is a result of the spiritual battle that we face, and we
must accept that. But we must continue on in the Lord's strength and
in the Lord's power. The thought that keeps me going when things are
not going well is the thought (however vain others might suppose this
to be) that someone, somewhere is depending on me today not to get
weary. May this thought be yours today as you face your day.
The story is told of a minister who was full of energy and enthusiasm
for the Lord. One day he went to the hospital to visit one of his
parishioners who was critically ill. The minister entered the room and
saw the man lying in bed with a whole host of tubes and wires attached
to his body. Without any delay the minister strode to his bedside and
began to exhort him to be of good cheer. Soon the man became agitated
and started to wave his arms. This encouraged the minister, and so he
exhorted him more and more enthusiastically. Finally the minister ended
with a rather lengthy prayer. At the final "Amen" the minister opened
his eyes just in time to see the man reach for a pad of paper and a
pencil. Quickly he wrote something and handed it to the minister. Then
the man turned his head and died. The minister was deeply moved to
think that his visit to this man had occurred in the nick of time. Then
he looked at the pad and read these words: "You are standing on my
oxygen tube!!!"
It could be that someone or something has been standing on your "oxygen
tube" lately and while you are still faithful to the Lord and doing
what you can to serve Him, it might seem as though all of the "life"
or enthusiasm has gone out of you, too. Perhaps you feel like you are
"going through the motions" just now- doing what you can to get by, but
you sure don't feel like doing it. This is a common symptom of what
some would call "burn-out." Others will have other terms for it:
depression, fatigue, "mid-life" crisis, laziess, boredom, and many
others. I call it just good, old-fashioned discouragement (except that
there is nothing really good that can be said about it). Discouragement
is a constant, spiritual battle among Christians who desire to follow
their Lord and yet the life to which He calls us is not easy. The life
of service we give to Him we think ought to be appreciated. It is
certainly appreciated by the Lord, but people do not understand it,
or value it, much less appreciate it. This, combined with the human
tendency to always look for meaningful results in "nickles and noses"
can be the perfect equation for discouragement.
I thought about this one evening after my children begged me to spend
time with them- but felt duty bound to call upon a family whom I sensed
needed Christ and with whom I had made a previous appointment. When
I arrived, I found that they were not at home. The thought of the
gasoline that I burned, the time wasted, and the relationship with my
own family chiseled away at tempted to fuel the fires of discouragement.
However, the Apostle Paul exhorts us in 2 Thessalonians 3:13: "But as
for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good." The weariness that
we encounter is a result of the spiritual battle that we face, and we
must accept that. But we must continue on in the Lord's strength and
in the Lord's power. The thought that keeps me going when things are
not going well is the thought (however vain others might suppose this
to be) that someone, somewhere is depending on me today not to get
weary. May this thought be yours today as you face your day.
(from 23 May 2001)
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