Do Not Give Up

Galatians 6:9             Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

 

Tomorrow, a whole bunch of young people from Knoxville, including my youngest daughter, are heading down to the Mississippi coast to do more clean up in the Katrina devastated areas. It’s more than a year since that terrible hurricane slammed into the Gulf Coast and thousands of people are still trying to clean, tear down, and rebuild their homes. It must be horrendous and extremely stressful. It must seem hopeless and sickening that after all of this time, the area still looks like a lunar landscape.

 

But our young people still want to help. They are willing to give up most of their October break to help the locals pick up the pieces and renew their lives. In years past, young people would have gone down to the beaches to fool around and have wild parties. Times have changed and for these two hundred young souls, helping others takes priority over their holidays.

 

Some of us become weary of helping others and undergo what’s called ‘donor fatigue’, but these young people are an example to all of us that where there are those whose lives are broken, whose needs are great, and whose spirits are depressed, we need to continue to help and not become weary in doing good. And as Paul says, in so doing, we will reap a harvest of God’s blessings if we do not give up.

 

Prayer:             Lord Jesus, be with our young people as they travel down to the Gulf Coast. Let them be Your messengers of hope to those whose lives have been devastated by the hurricanes. Let all the volunteers be transformed by this loving event, so that for the rest of their lives, they will not be weary of doing good. Keep them all safe and when they return, let us learn from them and celebrate their good works. In Your Holy name, we pray. Amen.