Guarding Your Zeal Against Weariness

One of the great enemies of zeal that threatens to extinguish its fire is weariness.

Weariness may be described as fatigue. Exhaustion. Or burnout. One writer offered this insight about the serious challenge of weariness.

“Weariness undermines zeal by diminishing motivation, reducing focus, and leading to spiritual burnout. It can make it difficult to maintain the enthusiasm and passion needed for long-term dedication to a cause or goal, especially in spiritual contexts.”

The Apostle Paul recognized the reality of this threat with this exhortation. “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal. 6:9).

Emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual weariness can undermine the best of intentions and dampen the enthusiasm of the most devout and passionate Christian. The late Hall-of-Fame football coach, Vince Lombardi was right when he said, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”

To cope with weariness, consider two challenges we need to overcome to maintain our zeal.

#1 We may be cooled by the coldness of other people.

Jesus said, “Because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall grow cold” (Matt. 24:12).

When others lack commitment, show little interest, and become indifferent, it may cause us to become discouraged and feel like giving up. Such opposition may not only occur outside the body of Christ, but also within it.

When we encounter the indifference of others, we must remember it says more about them than it does us. And it certainly does not reflect the attitude Jesus expects of His Disciples.

Steve Jobs once said, “Don’t let the opinions of others drown out your own inner voice.” Even more importantly, don’t let it drown out the Lord’s voice, who says, “Take up your cross daily and follow Me” (Lk. 9:23).

#2 We may become overwhelmed by the amount of work.

Sometimes a job can seem staggering to the point that it appears impossible. I recall as boy being assigned the task of pulling weeds in the garden. It was a discouraging task. There were weeds everywhere. It was overwhelming.

We may feel that same way as we look at the lost and sinful condition of the world. A fellow preacher once remarked to me that it seemed like he was sweeping back the ocean with a broom. Yet, Jesus came into a wicked world and said, “I must be about My Father’s business.” Even He couldn’t convert everyone. But He did what He could in 3 ½ years.

There’s an old story about a man walking the beach early one morning following a storm the night before. The beach was littered with starfish as far as He could see. Off in the distance, he noticed a small boy occasionally bending over, picking up an object, and throwing it into the Ocean.
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As the boy grew close the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what you’re doing?”

“Throwing starfish into the ocean,” he replied. “When it gets hot, they will die unless I throw them back into the water.”

The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”

The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”

We, too, can make a difference one person at a time.

Regardless of the indifference of others, the amount of work before us, or the feelings that we may have, Paul’s ancient admonition speaks to us today. It reminds us that we will reap the eternal reward if “we do not lose heart.”

Finally, let’s just do what we can do today. Don’t lose heart over what still needs to be done. As Mary Anne Radmacher opined, “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman