Introduction

Last Sunday evening, I brought you the first half of a message dealing with weariness in God's workers. This evening I'd like to finish that lesson.

Our text was Galatians 6:9-10:

"And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith."

We keyed in on the first phrase of verse 9: "Let us not lose heart in doing good..." The KJV says, "Let us not grow weary in well-doing..."

I pointed out that there is a weariness that can effect any worker for God. There is a possibility that the well-doer for God can "lose heart."

We went on to speak of some specific circumstances where can happen. I told you that:

	Any workers in the Lord's Kingdom can get weary.
	Parents can get weary in raising their children right.
	Those who have served the Lord sacrificially for a long time can be candidates for weariness.
	Those who have seen few visible results become weary.
	Those effected by the lethargy of others do too.
	Those experiencing temporary failure may tire of well-doing.
	Also those who are rejected by others.
	And those who are lonely.
	And those who are criticized.
	And those who get caught up in comparisons.
	And those who are bored.
	And those experiencing poor health.

What we didn't discuss last time was what to do about such weariness of well-doing. That is where I want to spend our time tonight.

Please join me in the Holy Scriptures at I Kings 19. There we find the account of someone who is probably the weariest well doer described by the Bible. I refer to the prophet, Elijah.

The story takes place in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the "Divided Kingdom" period. It is seven centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ. The nation of Israel has wandered far from God. Idol worship is rampant. The King of Israel, Ahab, has married a wicked Sidonian queen named Jezebel. Besides introducing the worship of the pagan idol, Asherah, Jezebel slaughtered many of the prophets of God. One of the surviving prophets, Elijah, has announced that God will cause a drought in the land. That drought lasted three and one-half years. It, and the famine that resulted, brought Israel to her knees. Elijah then went back to Ahab to tell him that God would restore the rain.

(Read 1 Kings 18:16-19)

What follows is a contest between Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal. They offer respective sacrifices - the 450 prophets to Baal to their god, Elijah the God of heaven. The clincher was that no one was allowed to use matches. They had to call on their God/gods to start the fires.

Even casual Bible students know the story. Baal couldn't produce a single spark, while God burned up not only the sacrifice, but the wood and the stone alter and the four barrels water Elijah poured over the whole thing, and left a scorched crater where the alter had been. Baal was soundly defeated before the watching eyes of Israel. It was Elijah's greatest hour - one of the most courageous acts in Israel's entire history.

(Read 1 Kings 18:39-40)

That out of the way, Elijah told Ahab to get his umbrella.

(Read 1 Kings 18:45-46)

As I remember it, Jezreel was 17 miles from Carmel where the contest took place. So pumped up with courage was Elijah that he chose to run home rather than hitching a chariot ride.

You don't get on any higher spiritual peaks this side of heaven than the one Elijah was on! Ironically, you don't fall into any lower spiritual valleys that the one Elijah fell into in the next chapter of 1 Kings, either!

Have you wondered about my proposition that well-doers sometimes get weary? Listen to what happened next and learn that they do.

(Read 1 Kings 19:1-4)

What a turn around!

(Read v. 5-18)

What can we learn about helping the weary well-doer from this passage? I see some very important things.

I. I See That This Can Happen to Very Zealous People.

As if we didn't get the point about Elijah's zeal in chapter 18, the Bible writer makes this point two times in this chapter.

(Read v. 10a, 14a)

What happened to Elijah can happen to you if you are a hard worker for the Lord. You need to be aware of it.

You may have thought when I began this message two weeks ago that I was speaking of something that didn't happen to godly workers for the Lord. ("Well, if they were truly living for God, they wouldn't get discouraged!") But it happened here, to one of the greatest prophets who ever lived! It must have happened in the Galatian church, too, because that is what Paul warned them about it in our text.

II. I See That God Did Not Write Elijah Off During This Difficult Time.

One of the most common things that effects the weary well-doer is discouragement. "How could God care for me in this condition? I've really blown it now!" But I want you to notice that God still cared very much for Elijah.

There in verse five, under the Juniper tree, God dispatched His angel to Elijah. This isn't a picture of the devil coming to claim his latest victim! We need to recognize that. God sent His angel!

Not only do hard working people of God get weary sometimes, but we need to know that God continues to care about them when they do!

God didn't write Elijah off during this difficult time.

III. I See That God Recognized That Elijah Needed Good Food and Good Rest.

It is difficult sometimes for the person zealous for God to allow himself/herself to rest. "After all," he reasons, "there is too much to do. The stakes are too high! Life is too short. Rest is for heaven, not for earth."

I heard someone say one time, making fun of another person who was taking a couple of days off, "The devil never takes a day off!" His answer was straight and to the point: "I didn't know the devil was supposed to be our example."

Tied up in all this with the weary well-doer is often guilt. He/she should do more. Not enough is being done. He/she is falling behind. God won't be pleased if there is a let up. So there is a big push. Pushing oneself beyond mediocrity is necessary if you want to accomplish good things for God, but the human body has its limits.

Do you see the first thing that God did with Elijah? He let him rest, then he woke him up to eat some good food. (I say it was good food because it gave him strength to go forty days!)

Stephen R. Covey, in THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE, tells this story to make a point about rest:

Suppose you were to come upon someone in the woods working feverishly to saw down a tree.

"What are you doing?" you ask.

"Can't you see?" comes the impatient reply. "I'm sawing down this tree."

"You look exhausted!" you exclaim. "How long have you been at it?"

"Over five hours," he returns, "and I'm beat! This is hard work."

"Well, why don't you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen that saw?" you inquire. "I'm sure it would go al lot faster."

"I don't have time to sharpen the saw," the man says emphatically. "I'm too busy sawing!"

(Read v. 5-8)

In our zeal to do God's work, we must occasionally take time for replenishing our finite store of energy. If we don't our body will force us to take time.

IV. I See That God Took Elijah Back to His Roots to Evaluate.

This is interesting. Did you pick that up in the end of verse 8? Where did Elijah end up? At Horeb. What is Horeb? Horeb is Sinai. Sinai is where it all began. Sinai was where God met Moses and gave Him the Law. Sinai was where God did the first miracles before Israel. Sinai was where God made his covenant with them. It was the beginning place of the faith Elijah was defending.

Sometimes the weary well-doer loses his grip on what he is doing and why he is doing it. When this happens, he may need to go back to his roots. He needs to rehearse the fundamentals of his faith and be reminded once again where he is, why he is standing where he is, and what the faith is all about. There in that historical site with reminders of Israel's history all around, Elijah could meditate on his God and his nation and his life.

Elijah, of course, was depressed and tried to avoid thinking or talking about it. He was sulking inside the cave. Three times God asked him what he was doing? Did God do that because he needed information? No. He wanted Elijah to think about things. He took him back to his roots and then asked him what he was doing.

Sometimes we, too, need to draw away and think about our original commitments. Why did we get into this? What are we doing? Why have we lost the zeal we had originally? God wants us to evaluate and get things back into perspective.

V. I See That God Dealt With His Overwhelming Sense of Loneliness.

It is extremely discouraging to believe that you are the only remaining force in the world standing against evil. Those odds can overwhelm you! What's the use in continuing to knock yourself out? It is all coming to nothing anyway!

Have you ever felt that way?

That is apparently how Elijah felt. God knew it and knew what to do about it.

(Read v. 18)

There is great encouragement when you find those who are still serving the Lord and not bowing down to Satan!

Many of you know how difficult it is to stand against the "easy believism" of the religious people of our day. Couple that with the unbelievers and scoffers some of us have to deal with every day on our jobs and we can begin to feel overwhelmed. It is a great need for us to know that there are others who serve God as we do.

Notice that God also gave Elijah a companion. Up until this time Elijah lived alone. He hid out for three straight years in the vicinity of the Brook Cherith. Being alone has some advantages, but when you are weak and beaten down, you need a friend.

God gave Elisha to Elijah as a servant and a trainee.

VI. Finally, I See That He Gave Him A Fresh Challenge Once He Was Rested.

(Read 15-17)

That phrase, "Elisha the son of Shapat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place..." is not God's putting Elijah out to pasture. His work wasn't done yet. He would continue to serve for some years to come. But from this time on he would not serve alone. This was Elijah's call to begin to pour his life into someone younger than himself so that he could pass the torch of service.

Today we sometimes call it "mentoring." It is an older man or woman spending time with a younger, teaching them the ropes.

All of us will become too old to serve one day. When that happens, is it just over? It doesn't have to be. Our work and our dreams and our zeal can live on in another if we take the time to plant it in them.

So Elijah's challenge from that point on was to mentor as well as serve.

He left that cave on Sinai refreshed, refocused, and recharged with a new vision of service. All weary workers need that at some point.

Conclusion

Weariness of well-doing is a fact of life we need to cope with when we serve the Lord. Rather than be overwhelmed by it, I suggest this checklist for coping.

	REALIZE that other zealous workers become weary.
	REMEMBER that God doesn't write you off.
	REST and recharge physically.
	REFLECT on where you've been and where you are going.
	REJOIN yourself with the companionship of others who still serve God.
	RENEW your commitment to new challenges once you are back on track.

Click here for Part 1 of this message