"But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good" (v. 13).I thought this morning about how why I am so prone to doing this very thing - growing weary in good works. In my experience, its almost as if I get satisfied. I'll be pleased with the work I've done and maybe even convinced that God is just as pleased. Now I don't deny that God is pleased when we do what He asks us to, but this sort of thinking tends to lead me toward stagnation rather than growth. It leads me toward thinking that God wants more of the same (even if it's good) instead of a higher place in Him. And even when I do fall away, this sort of attempt at pleasing God can cause me to desire "the relationship I used to have with God" instead of "a much closer relationship I've never had with God before."
I think the bottom line is a attaining the right perspective of God, who He is and what He really wants. He doesn't want us setting our own standard (reflecting on when we thought we were "more spiritual") and then trying to live up to it. The danger there is that we can easily meet our own standard and in doing so no longer be required to grow. God wants our hearts, not our works. When we confuse this, it can become easy to grow weary in our good works because we've lost the purpose behind them. David confesses to God in Psalm 51: 16-17:
"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure
in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and
contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
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