In 2 Thessalonians 3:13 (ESV) Paul wrote: “do not grow weary in doing good.”

Some of the people in that church were lazy. “Idleness” was a problem. But others were doing good things. They were serving, evangelizing, and being useful. Those were the people Paul was talking to.

Note the word ‘weary.’ He affirmed them in the good that they were doing. His warning had to do with their ‘weariness.’ 

Can you relate? You try to serve God. You do good things in your home, at work, at school, in the church, or in the wider community. You’re not perfect. But by God’s grace, you make an effort to do good things. You see this as an important part of your faith.

There are times, however—perhaps even now–when you feel like you could hit a wall. You are…

Weary.

The way to avoid hitting a wall hard, is to slow down before you get there. 

It’s easier said than done. One day of rest per week certainly helps. So does limiting your time online. So does going to bed at a half-decent time.

But something else to consider is simply not filling up the downtime you already have with busy-work.

How often do we do this? We come across two free hours in an evening, but instead of simply resting, we fill the time with little things we “have to get done,” but actually aren’t that important. Many of those tasks can wait.

Sometimes the most pressing thing that “needs to get done”… is nothing.

Life can get frantic. This is true whether you’re fifteen, fifty or retired. And many of you are probably doing good things as followers of Jesus. But weariness lurks.

One way to rest is to not fill up the downtime you already have with busy-work.

Try it out. Perhaps it will start a larger rhythm of refreshment, and you will be increasingly un-weary as you serve God and bless the people around you.

The way to avoid hitting a wall hard, is to slow down before you get there.

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Notes:

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.