Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.  
Galatians 6:9-10

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I grew up backpacking in the mountains of Southern Colorado with my family. It was our version of a vacation that we would do every year around the Fourth of July week. I remember one time when I was around 10 years old, I started to get this pain in my chest as we were hiking. I felt like every breath I took, someone was stabbing me! My legs felt leaden, and I just couldn’t catch my breath. I was the definition of weary. 

My dad had me take my pack off and distributed its contents between himself and my mom. Then he knelt down and told me that I couldn’t stay where I was because home was only a few more miles away. He encouraged me to stand up and keep focusing on the next step. Then the next step. Then the next. 

Through the pain and panic of my 10-year-old self, I learned that day how much more there was inside me, especially when I was taking steps with a family who could help bear my burdens. 

Friends, the same is true for our spiritual lives. We are here in the last week of Celebration of Hope. Many of us have taken part in the solidarity fast, thousands of us packed seeds, and we have begun to give sacrificially of our finances to fight poverty and injustice so that lives are transformed, and Jesus is known. You might feel weary right now, that you’ve done enough and are finished. My encouragement is that you might still have steps to take to finish the race. Just stand up and focus on taking the next step. Then the next step. Then the next.

Next Steps

How might you dig deep to partner with the work God is doing around the world? Is God calling you to give sacrificially? Maybe he’s calling you to join a serve team? Maybe it’s something else? Take a minute to reflect on what God might be calling you into.