The Unhurried Way

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” — Galatians 6:9

There are seasons when it seems as though the harder we try to do what is right, the more difficult life becomes. We make a responsible decision and another expense appears. We try to bring peace and order into our lives, only for something unexpected to disrupt it. We begin following the direction we believe God has placed before us and instead of finding an easier road, we encounter one obstacle after another.

Eventually, a question rises that we may be reluctant to say aloud: God, I am trying to do the right things. Why does everything seem to be getting worse?

It is easy during those seasons to wonder whether difficulty means we have made a mistake. We may question whether we misunderstood God, chose the wrong path, or somehow failed Him. Somewhere along the way, many of us have absorbed the idea that obedience should make the road smoother, as though doing what God asks will protect us from frustration, disappointment, exhaustion, or loss.

Scripture tells a very different story.

Joseph refused the advances of Potiphar’s wife because he would not sin against God, yet his integrity did not immediately bring blessing or recognition. He was falsely accused and sent to prison. David was anointed by God to become king, but before reaching the throne he spent years fleeing from Saul. Elijah faithfully confronted idolatry and witnessed God’s power on Mount Carmel, yet shortly afterward he was exhausted, afraid, and sitting beneath a tree asking God how he could continue.

Paul certainly knew this tension. His obedience to Christ brought extraordinary purpose to his life, but it also brought rejection, imprisonment, persecution, hunger, danger, and hardship. When Paul tells us in Galatians not to become weary in doing good, he is not speaking as someone unfamiliar with weariness.

Perhaps that is one reason those words matter so much.

“Let us not be weary in well doing.”

Scripture acknowledges something we sometimes hesitate to admit: doing good can make us tired. Obedience can cost us something. Choosing integrity does not guarantee that other people will treat us fairly. Following God does not mean every door will immediately open, every financial problem will disappear, or every difficult circumstance will resolve itself.

Sometimes the faithful road is difficult precisely while we are walking it.

That does not mean difficulty itself proves we are following God correctly; we still need prayer, discernment, Scripture, and a willingness to be corrected. But neither should hardship automatically convince us that we have taken a wrong turn.

There are times when faithfulness simply means continuing to do what is right while we cannot yet see what God is doing through it.

We may not understand why something has become harder. We may not know why one problem appeared immediately after another was finally resolved. We may even reach the point where all we can honestly tell God is, I am tired, and I do not understand this.

God is not offended by that honesty.

The encouragement of Galatians 6:9 is not that faithful people never become weary. The warning itself assumes that we will. The encouragement is that weariness does not have to become surrender.

There may be more happening than we can see from where we are standing. God sees the whole road while we see only the portion directly in front of us. Our inability to understand what He is doing does not mean He has stopped working.

So when doing the right thing seems to make everything harder, we do not have to pretend that it is easy. We can bring our frustration, exhaustion, and confusion honestly before God and still choose faithfulness.

Sometimes the prayer for such a day is simply:

Father, I am tired of trying to do what is right and feeling as though things only become harder. I do not understand what You are doing, but help me not to become weary in doing good. Give me wisdom if I need to change direction, strength if I need to keep going, and enough faith to trust You when I cannot yet see what You are doing. Amen.

For Today: Difficulty is not, by itself, proof that you are walking in the wrong direction. Before giving up, bring your weariness to God and ask Him whether He is calling you to change course—or simply giving you strength to continue.