Find encouragement to endure the process.
“Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.”
Giving Consistently Requires Endurance
Have you ever had times when you found yourself giving, doing, spending time, effort, sweat, going out of your way to help, and investing all to give to others? Those times can be exciting but draining of strength, resources, and time.
We can feel like giving up, not seeing progress or goals achieved, feeling discouraged, down, and worn out, even wishing at times that we’d never started. It’s during those times we can look to God, have faith, and trust Him that our intentions and efforts are being cultivated in unseen places, and will bring forth good results, even, if, for extended times we don’t see anything happening, maybe not for years, or decades, before reaping the results we had hoped for when we first began.
How Apostle Paul Explained Investing in Others
The Apostle Paul seemed to understand how planting and growing in others can take time, and it isn’t up to us to see it blossom and bloom. As he wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:7,
“So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”
Especially when it comes to investing in people, it can seem painfully slow before we even start seeing anything happening, to see the things we’ve planted and watered begin to sprout and grow.
Waiting on the Fruit
Waiting can feel like it’s going on forever through the long, hard days of seeing no progress or growth, wondering if our time and efforts spent on investing in others are coming up fruitless. It can be times of deep anguish and sorrowful weeping.
God offers patience to help us endure.
But God offers us the spiritual fruits of patience and long suffering in our lives, to help us endure during the quiet, inactive times. As Galatians 5:22 describes, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”
The Joy of the Lord is our strength!
He also promises joy that, no matter the situation, comes from knowing Him. As John 15:11 explains, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
Paul's Encouragement
As Paul encourages in Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
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