Do Not Despair (Galatians 6:7-10)

Do Not Despair (Galatians 6:7-10)

 

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

 

Head)

1. one day, the devil decided to sell all of the tools and tricks of his trade. Buyers gathered to see what they could buy. However, one item had a sign on it that read, “NOT FOR SALE.” This item was “despair”.

 

Buyers asked the devil why he would sell everything except “despair.” He replied that he can get rid of everything as long as he had “despair” to use at his disposal. “Despair” was vital to the devil’s work because with it he could do anything.

 

If the devil to plant “despair” into any heart, he could control the person’s actions, no matter who they were. “Despair” is the devil’s ultimate tool. Even the most devout Christian falls under Satan’s control when despair enters their heart. Today we will take a look at four circumstances in which we should never despair.

 

Body)

A) Do Not Despair if Good Deeds do not Always Yield Fruit

It is incredibly easy to despair when we face trials and failure despite living in goodness, in faith, and as admirable people of Christ. Some would see failure as the result of taking the wrong approach; living righteously was the wrong choice.

 

But the viewpoint of the world and the viewpoint of God are different. If we plant seeds of blessings, we must remember that we will always be rewarded even if it takes 10 or 20 years. Sometimes we won’t see fruit until a generation later. It may take time, but our good deeds will never go unrewarded.

 

You reap what you sow. Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows,” and verse 9 tells us, “9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

 

As long as we ourselves do not throw in the towel first, we will always bear fruit for our work. To reap our rewards, we need patience.

 

1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

 

Hebrews 10: 35-36 says, “35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” Without confidence and patience, we cannot receive the blessings and gifts the Lord promised us.

 

Hebrews 10:38 also mentions, “”38 And,“But my righteous[g] one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”. Despair in lethal to a Christian; it is forbidden.

 

A pastor became exhausted, emotionally and physically, by his struggling ministry. He was in despair when he had a dream. He was trying to split a giant granite boulder with a chisel and hammer, but try as he might, he couldn’t even make a dent in the rock.

 

Hours later, he was about to give up a stranger came up to him and asked, “Why aren’t you working like you should? Why are you trying to quit?” The pastor explained that his job is pointless; the boulder can’t be cracked. The stranger answered, “Whether or not the boulder will crack is none of your business. Your job is to strike the boulder with your hammer and chisel. All you need to do is work. The fate of the boulder is in someone else’s hands.”

 

Hearing this, the pastor regained strength and motivation and went back to work. Not much later, the granite boulder broke into hundreds of pieces. Hallelujah! Just because we can’t see the results of our work ourselves, it does not mean there will be no change. If we become impatient and deem our efforts fruitless, we will never see His blessings.

 

B) Do Not Let Prayer Despair You

Unless the prayer goes against His will, God will always answer your prayer as long as you pray earnestly enough. Yet there are those who don’t receive an answer and easily as they had hoped, and they are quickly discouraged and despair.

 

Jesus tells us in Luke 18:1, “…always pray and [do] not give up.” He continues by telling the story of a widow who repeatedly went to an unjust judge and demanded he serve justice. After being repeatedly disturbed by the widow, the judge gave up and granted her wish purely because he no longer wanted to be bothered.

 

Jesus continues, “will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

 

To have faith is to have patience and perseverance. When the Prophet Elijah, a skilled and well-known prophet of reputable Israel, prayed to God and asked for rain seven times, all he got was a tiny cloud the size of one’s palm.

 

Even if God’s will seems clear, we must pray with patience. If we pray, but quickly give up, we will never hear His great answer. There are many people who miss out on God’s answer to their prayers because they despair and quit too soon.

 

Having your prayers answered does not mean God allows things to happen as you wanted. We must remember that there are three possible answers to our prayers: Yes! No! and Wait!

 

Sometimes it will feel as if our prayers are falling on deaf ears, but God is intervening to give us better results. We cannot despair when we do not hear an answer and we must not despair if we do not receive the answer we wanted.

 

Faith means to pray and accept whatever answer God gives us with the belief that His plan is the best plan for us. Do not despair as a result of your own impatience.

 

C) Do Not Despair When Evil Prevails

It is incredibly easy to despair when we’ve been living our lives as righteously as God commanded yet it is the ruthless and immoral ones who receive the riches, honor, recognition, and glory.

 

This despair stems from our tendencies to compare our circumstances with those of others. We wonder how such things can happen if our God, a just God, is supposedly alive and in control.

 

But the Bible tells us that we should never envy or be jealous of the good fortunes of evildoers. Proverbs 24:19-20 reminds and warns us that such gains are temporary: “19 Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked, 20 for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.”

 

Psalm 37:1-4 also tells us, “1 Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; 2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. 3 Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

 

Verses 5-10 continue, “5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. 10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.”

 

If we put our trust and faith in God and do not get discouraged, light will find us and we too will shine.

 

If we look at history, we see dictators and powers like Hitler taking over and rising to great power. We wonder how God could allow such things to happen. But when the time comes, God strikes His ultimate judgment upon these evildoers.

 

Mussolini, Japanese war criminals, Stalin, Lenin, Hitler, and countless other deliberate sinners throughout history faced the same punishment of eternity in hell.

 

 When Communism was growing, and Communists were persecuting and executing Christians it was easy to doubt God and fall into despair. But in the end, the USSR, the main Communist power at the time, eventually collapsed. North Korea is in an incredibly volatile state.

 

Communism in China is unstable and they are wary of churches and democracy, persecuting Christianity for fear of being taken over. Yet despite their struggles, Christians in China have recently outnumbered communists. Communism in China is seeing its final days.

 

Thus we cannot take the instant successes of the immoral and despair. God’s wheel of justice may be slower than we want, but it is a powerful and inevitable force that will destroy all evildoers in its path.

 

D) Last, Do Not Despair When Unexpected Trials Find You

In the Book of Job, we read the story of Job, a man who was righteous in everyway, receive undeserved trials, disaster, and calamity. Yet Job never blamed or lost his faith in God. Job displayed unprecedented faith and patience.

 

Job was a man God recognized as truly righteous and sinless. But in one day Job was stripped of everything in his life because God allowed Satan to test him. He lost his home, money, possessions, and family. Any better man would have succumbed to despair.

 

Yet amidst his anguish, Job never blamed God. Instead he said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

 

When Job passed Satan’s tests, God blessed Job even more than before. There are times in our lives when we feel like we are doing everything right, yet calamity finds us for no apparent or deserving reason. But we cannot despair when this happens. If we do not persevere, we will not see the greater blessings God has prepared for us.

 

James says in chapter 5 verses 7-8, “7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”

 

Verses 10-11 continue, “10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”

 

They may seem near and it may feel as if the Lord has forsaken you, but God never allows trials we cannot handle. We must believe in this fact and persevere through the end.

 

A pastor led his ministry far in the countryside. There was a poor widow and her son who could barely afford food. Yet she always came to church, tithed what little she had, attended early morning prayer services without fail, and even brought the first fruits of her small harvest whenever she was able.

 

But one day, a flood came through and destroyed her house, her small farm, and the little provisions of food they had. Seeing this, the dumbfounded pastor prayed to the Lord, “God, what is happening? What will me and my sermons become if you let something like this happen?”

 

However, in the years after, the widow picked herself back up from her shambles and later went on to live in an even bigger house with more fortune. Her son, who only graduated from elementary school, grew up to be a church elder, the owner of a popular electronics store, drove a nice car, and lived in a large apartment. Hallelujah!

 

To fall victim to despair is forbidden for Christians. “Despair” is the most lethal tool the devil uses against believers. Put your faith in the verse, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose,” (Romans 8:28) and overcome despair. Hallelujah!

(011517/ Translated by yebin Choi Ahn)