Matters of Faith: Faint Not

20161113_JLRussellGalatians 6:9

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Have you ever been in a place where it seemed like all the good you do is unappreciated and valueless? Where everything you were trying to do right went wrong? Where it got so bad that you began to doubt yourself? Where you began doing things that were completely out of charecter for you? It’s like being in an episode of The Twilight Zone, a surreal place that seems to sap all of your strength. Whatever the reason for your being there, what matters is that you not lose faith. What matters is that you know that you will be victorious if you don’t quit.

To faint is to give up, to quit. The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Galatian church to encourage them not to quit doing what was right. He encouraged them to be steadfast in doing good even if others weren’t. He listed in chapter 5:18-21(a) the things that makes us weary or quit; “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (NET). It’s simple to see how easy it is to step away from the Spirit and enter the flesh. That’s why Paul says we need to be tolerent of one another. Do you remember that old saying, “There but by the grace of God go I?” We are all prone to going from doing what’s right to doing what’s wrong. How we stay on course and do right is shared in the concluding verses of chapter 5 where Paul says that those who belong to Christ (identify with his life, death, burial and resurrection) can walk in the Spirit.

Now, when you do the right things, there is a reward and a victory in your future. In his own way, Paul says that the Lord sees the good you’re doing if no one else does. He sees your efforts and adds everlasting value to it. He sees your sincerity and prepares a celebration to recognize you. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Gal. 6:7-8).

So he encourages his readers not be so judgemental of a brother or sister that has fallen to the lust of the flesh. We are to be committed to our efforts to do right even when it’s difficult to do so. You will reap if you faint not!

Be Blessed!

Rev. J. Loren Russell is an associate minister at both Goodwill and The Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx, President/CEO of The JLR Company for Church Financial & Strategic Consulting, and hosts “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Soul 1 Radio, Mondays 8:00 – 10:00 PM. Listen here or by phone at 626-226-1448. Be sure to friend “Matters of Faith” on Facebook, Twitter @jlorenr, #jlorenr, and email us at matteroffaith.mof@gmail.com.  

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