“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
What an encouragement to hear so often these days of brothers and sisters at Providence sharing the gospel with neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends. Many seeds have been and are being sown in the soil around us.
As I read Galatians recently, coming across 6:9, I considered different ways that some among us may be in danger of growing weary and/or discouraged. To be sure, Galatians 6 encourages “sowing to the Spirit,” not in the narrow sense of sharing the gospel, but in the broad sense of faithfulness in all areas of life. Still, sharing our faith is one area where we may grow weary in doing good. Perhaps, we have worked hard to build rapport, have shared the good news repeatedly, have prayed unceasingly…yet we have not seen anyone come to faith in Christ. What should we do?
We should do in our evangelistic lives what we should do in every other area: resist growing weary in doing good, knowing that in due season we will reap if we do not give up. With that in mind, here are a handful of ways to keep on keeping on though the harvest seems slow to come in.
Persist in prayer. Jesus taught His disciples that “they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). The admonition itself assumes that the answer to prayer doesn’t always come immediately. What we perceive to be God’s slowness to answer ought not discourage us. Rather, we should continue to implore Him for the rescue of souls.
Certainly we should do this in our times of private prayer. Why not also make this a normal part of our prayer at the monthly prayer gathering? The name of the person you want to see saved…why not submit that name for corporate prayer month after month until we see that person saved and praying alongside us for others?
Persist in thinking biblically. Three truths to repeat to ourselves:
• The gospel is the power of God for salvation (Rom 1:16). The temptation to “get results” has led many a well-meaning evangelist to modify or water-down the message. But faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ (Rom 10:17).
• My role is delivery of the message (Matt 28:20; Rom 10:15). As long as the good news is communicated, clearly, fully, winsomely…I have been faithful. I cannot and do not convert the lost.
• His role is delivery of souls (Eze 37:1-14; Titus 3:4-5; John 3:5-8). He alone can use the message preached to bring the dead to life. By grace, He uses us as instruments of proclamation, but the salvation of souls is His domain and takes place in His time. Just as surely as He saved us, He will save others.
Persist in sharing the good news. Did you hear the gospel only once before trusting in Christ? Perhaps, but that is almost certainly not the norm. I heard it many, many times before I came to faith. What a tragedy if those around me had planted one seed, saw it appearing to lie lifeless, and gave up! We ought to cultivate and plant and water and repeat. While continuing to work on that one, let’s cultivate interactions with others.
And let’s take whatever we can get: rare is the conversation where some gospel-related truth cannot be worked in. On the other hand, more often than we think there is an opening for the whole gospel!
Persist in good works. We may not always think about good works in the context of persisting in evangelism, but Jesus said in Matthew 5:14–16, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Our conduct is a vital part of our gospel witness. It is not sufficient in itself (Rom 10:17), but our lives validate our words. So, let us not grow weary in doing good… The lost are not only listening, but watching!
The sowers of a gospel seed aren’t always the ones who see the harvest (John 4:35-38). At least not always in this life. You can rest assured of this: on the last day, we’ll all see all the fruit of all the gospel labor done by all the church as all His people are gathered to Him. So, don’t grow weary in doing good, for in due season—if only in eternity—we will reap if we don’t give up!
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