Galatians 6.9-10
“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.”
Fatigue is a factor in the Christian life. It takes a great deal of energy to bring your best to your work, your family, your community, and your church. For this reason, Paul encourages us not to grow weary and not to give up. In some translations, that last part is rendered “do not lose heart.”
The Greek verb that Paul uses for “give up” is ekluo, which means “to unloose, to have one’s strength go away, to grow weak, to be faint-hearted.” Paul is telling us to pay attention to our heart, to our inner self, so that we do not lose heart for doing the things of the kingdom of God.
The real issues of life are spiritual; they are matters of the heart, the inner man. For this reason the word is found many times in the bible.
The heart is the intersection of your mind, emotions, and will. It is the executive center of your life. As goes your heart, so goes your life. It is for this reason that we must not lose heart for the Lord and the things of his kingdom. We must not allow the frustrations and difficulties of the fallen world to weaken us. We must not allow our heart for God to grow weak. We must continually feed and strengthen our heart for the Lord.
Peter describes the inner man as “the hidden man of the heart” (I Peter 3:4 KJV), or the “inner self” (I Peter 3:4 NIV). It is the center of one’s being (Proverbs 4:23), where he believes and exercises faith (Luke 24:25; Romans 10:9,10). It is the location of the human deliberation, where wisdom is employed.
God must “remove the heart of stone” and replace it with “a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).
(1) Submit your heart. Life is lived from the heart. Jesus said: “Be careful what you treasure, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If you treasure something, it means that thing has captured your heart. It owns you. It directs you. As goes your heart, so goes your life. Therefore, submit your heart fully to the lordship of Christ. Submit everything to him; hold nothing back.
(2) Fill your heart. Your heart will grow stronger or weaker based on what you feed it. Your heart is designed to be a vessel.It is not built to be empty and it will be filled with something. Fill your heart with things that make you strong. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col 3).
(3) Guard your heart. Nothing is more important than protecting your heart. “Guard your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23). There are many forces trying to distract, disrupt, and misdirect you. Protect yourself!
(4) Give your heart. This is what family and friendship and fellowship is all about. It is about giving your heart to the important people in your life. If you submit your heart … fill your heart … and guard your heart but you don’t give your heart, then what’s the purpose? I Corinthians 13 spells it out: “If am gifted and knowledgeable but I don’t have love, then I gain nothing.” Love is the most powerful force on earth. John 15: “There is no greater love than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4.16-18)
