How Not to Be Weary in Well-Doing

Paul was one of the greatest soldiers in God’s army in the New Testament. At the end of his ministry, he declared that he had “finished my course” (2 Tim. 4:7, KJV)! The only way to finish our course or term of duty is to avoid becoming weary in well-doing.

I have had the pleasure of working with some of the greatest soldiers in God’s army. These were people whom I covered and who were a part of my ministry, but they fell off for some reason or the other. They served well and walked in the anointing of God, but
they fell prey to the enemy in the midst of their good work. Nehemiah is an example of a soldier who did not become weary in well-doing. While he was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Sanballat and Tobiah, kings of neighboring tribes of people, asked him five times to come to meet with them. But all five times Nehemiah told Sanballat and Tobiah that he was not coming off the wall because he was “doing a great work and cannot come down”
(Neh. 6:3). Most fallen soldiers fall while doing a “good work.”

It is of paramount importance that as soldiers in the army of God, we finish the work we begin and maintain our good work by avoiding weariness in well-doing. Our Bible is
filled with important admonitions about finishing the work God gives us to do. There are three relevant scriptures that refer to not becoming weary in the work of the Lord given below for you to read and internalize in your spirit. Determine to stay the course until you have finished. Let these scriptures be like marrow to your bones to build you up in your commitment to finish your race as Paul did.

1. Galatians 6:7–9
In this first example you will discover that God will not allow Himself to be mocked. Those who attempt to sneer at the sincere efforts of God’s soldiers will be unable to make the saints weary!

Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint
in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. —Emphasis added

2. 2 Thessalonians 3:10–15
Paul warned the Thessalonica church that those who refused to work in God’s army should not be given food and necessities they should be earning. He also tells the faithful soldier to refuse to associate with those who will not work. Lazy brethren who do not want to work cannot make the saints weary!

For while we were yet with you, we gave you this rule and charge: If anyone will not work, neither let him eat. Indeed, we hear that some among you are disorderly [that they are
passing their lives in idleness, neglectful of duty], being busy with other people’s affairs instead of their own and doing no work. Now we charge and exhort such persons [as ministers in Him exhorting those] in the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) that they work in quietness and earn their own food and other necessities. And as for you, brethren, do not become weary or lose heart in doing right [but continue in well-doing without weakening]. But if anyone [in the church] refuses to obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but simply admonish and warn him as [being still] a brother. —Emphasis added

3. Jeremiah 12:5–6
Those who are part of God’s army but who make idle promises or speak deceitfully to the faithful soldiers in God’s army will be unable to make the faithful soldiers weary. Guard against such people.

[But the Lord rebukes Jeremiah’s impatience, saying] If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? And if [you take to flight] in a land of peace where you feel secure, then what will you do [when you tread the tangled maze of jungle haunted by lions] in the swelling and flooding of the Jordan? For even your brethren and the house of your father—even they have dealt treacherously with you; yes, even they are [like a pack of hounds] in full cry after you. Believe them not, though they speak fair words and promise good things to you.

God Promises Rest for the Weary
In other examples God’s Word teaches us that our Commander will be faithful to provide times of rest and refreshing to His faithful soldiers. Job 3:17 speaks of a place in the spirit where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary will have rest. In Isaiah 28:12
the word of the Lord spoke to God’s people concerning a rest that causes the weary to rest and a refreshing from the Lord, but they would not hear.

We are taught in the Bible to share in the sufferings and hardships of others, and we have learned that a good soldier is always looking out for the needs of his fellow soldiers. Isaiah
50:4 teaches that we should know how to speak a word in season to the weary.

Our Commander will never overlook the needs of the faithful soldier who is doing the work assigned to him or her. Jeremiah 31:25 teaches us that God will satisfy every weary soul and replenish every sorrowful person. In Jeremiah 51:58 we discover that our Commander will thwart the efforts of our enemies, and that instead of being able to make us weary with their warfare tactics, they will be made weary by God our Commander.

Hear the Word of the Lord, saints in America; be not weary in well-doing, but rest and be refreshed! God will reward your faithfulness to the work of the kingdom. Stay focused on your mission and be faithful in your prayers. The efforts of your enemies will not be able to hinder your faithfulness in prayer. The apostles in the Bible were warned by the false religious leaders not to pray in Jesus’s name. Daniel was told not to pray at all. In each instance the men of God obeyed Him and remained faithful in their prayer lives, even while under attack and great threat. The power of prayer is unlimited in the midst of persecution. Be the voice that will cry out in the wilderness. Open your window, face Jerusalem, and pray in Jesus’s name alone. He is God, and He is with us! May the anointing of Emmanuel be with you as you join us in prayer to get on our faces, on the walls, in the gates, and in the gaps of America! God bless!

A sought-after conference speaker, preacher and powerful prayer warrior, Kimberly Daniels pastors Spoken Word Ministries in Jacksonville, Fla., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with her husband, Ardell. She is a recently elected city councilwoman in Jacksonville as well as the author of numerous books, including her book, Spiritual Bootcamp (Charisma House), from which this article is adapted.