There are so many things to love about this time of year; the change in temperature and season, the particular flowers that bloom in these cooler months, the sunsets, the smell of the wood fire, the show! We also celebrate a few personal celebrations at this time of year too; our wedding anniversary falls at this time of year, our son’s birthday and our church’s expansion offering.
It’s a rather special time of year, however there is also that feeling that you are gearing up for the remainder of the year whilst also processing all that has already transpired and changed in the last six months.
It’s the halfway point where you sit and review those original new year goals with either a great sense of accomplishment or defeat, all depending on how far you’ve either deviated away or towards the goals. It’s also a time where there is a sense of tiredness or exhaustion as you look on to the remaining six months, but also review the last six months.
Perhaps we’ve started off the year with feelings of excitement and anticipation but, as life inevitably happens, we’ve grown weary and tired as a result. But what if we looked at the last six months a little differently? I once heard a Pastor say that the last six months of the year are the best six months of the year. You see, it’s all perspective.
Serving God out of need
The same thing happens in churches, where often at the start of the year we say yes to serving God. Usually out of a need, we say yes out of the goodness of our heart. Time passes and we are still saying yes, except now we have a few other things on our plate as well. This is where we need to remember that everything we do has to flow from our relationship with Jesus.
If we only ever continue to serve out of need, we will end up disorientated, tired, overwhelmed and probably frustrated. We didn’t mean or intend for this to happen, but it has and in order for it to turn around we will need to make some changes.
In the book of Ephesians, Paul instructs husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it (Ephesians chapter 5 verses 25). Christ was and is, pretty passionate about His church and I believe that we ought to maintain a similar level of passion for His house.
What if we have grown tired?
Paul also wrote in the book of Galatians, let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians chapter 6 verse 9). This should be a great encouragement to us, that if we have grown weary and tired in doing good, not to give up because we will reap as a result of all that we have sown.
This is His promise to us. Jesus goes on to remind us in the gospel of Matthew, that His burden is light and His yoke is easy (Matthew chapter 11 verse 30). We only grow weary because we carry things that we were never mean to carry/lift in the first place. I’ve done this, we all have, but when we serve out of our own personal relationship with Jesus, there is a joy about us, something is different about us—there is a spring in our step.
God doesn’t refine us for our own benefit, but rather so that He can do more through us and there is a lot more to be done in these next six months
So, if we have grown weary in doing good, if we have become heavy due to the things we have been carrying, then we must press in and make some changes so that the last six months could just be the best six months of the year. Imagine what may happen, what could unfold, what may be possible, the friendships that could be made. The potential is great, but it is up to us to grab a hold of it.
Elise Pappas and her husband are Campus Pastors of a Church on the Sunshine Coast. They have a son, Jonathan and a daughter Sophie. Elise has a heart for God’s word and people. She also enjoys trail running and spending precious time with her friends and family.
Elise Pappas is a Pastor and together with her husband pastor a church on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. They have a son, Jonathan and a daughter, Sophie. Elise is a former clinical drug trial research coordinator and business owner. She writes about life and ministry experiences.