We’ve grown tired, as individuals, as a nation, as a world. Tired of less activity. Tired of less togetherness. Tired of trying to do the right things to keep everybody safe. Tired of hearing bad news, whether about the virus, about injustice, about politics.

As I rejoice in the new-found freedom of being fully vaccinated and seeing the numbers in my little corner of the world and my country trend in the right direction, I watch what’s happening elsewhere, especially in India, with horror but also with a numbness that is almost acceptance that things are just bad.

My husband and I have been blessed with jobs that were safe in the pandemic, leaving our finances in good shape. Early in the pandemic, we were eager to help others whose situations were not secure. We looked for opportunities to give to help people in our community who were negatively impacted by the pandemic. For the first several months, we made it a point to do that extra giving each month.

Time passed, and we grew tired, not of the giving so much as of the circumstances. We realized that we had stopped doing the extra giving, not because we decided to quit but because we forgot. At that point, we did go back and give more, but we had skipped a few months in our weariness.

I think this is a common occurrence when we set out to do something good. We’re not usually in the midst of a global pandemic, but we are usually trying to help with problems that are not going to be fixed overnight. Concern and enthusiasm are enough to get us started, but often not enough to keep us motivated, especially when we don’t see quick results.

God knows that about us. He knows that our nature prompts us to do things for ourselves, not for others: that we are prone to give up when our efforts to help others do not produce quick and dramatic results. Thus we have the admonition:

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Galatians 6:8-10

As we do our part to help the world get normal and walk with God day-by-day, let’s work to follow this admonition. Let’s keep our eyes open for those chances to do good for our neighbors, our coworkers, and especially for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let’s fight the natural exhaustion that creeps in as we demonstrate God’s love and remember to look forward to the promised harvest.

Photo by Mulyadi on Unsplash