Buckets of Paint

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” – Galatians 6:9

In our small town, there is a man named John who owns a paint store. He enjoys his work and has become friends with many people in town. Being a gregarious and generous man, he decided to hold a reunion of sorts, with about fifty local painters, so he invited them to his store for refreshments and games.

As one of the prizes, he offered a new air compressor to anyone who could take two buckets of paint, one in each hand, and hold them at shoulder height for a five-minute period. Some tried and failed, and then my son took up the challenge. Unbeknownst to John, my son placed two empty paint buckets within easy reach! When he picked up the buckets, he thought it would be a simple task, but even the empty buckets turned out to be a strain. At the end of just two minutes his arms grew very tired and he almost gave up. However, a deep desire to endure came from not wanting to spoil the joke on John!

Several boys were in on the scam, so you can imagine the cheers as he approached three minutes with buckets in mid air, then four minutes. John was puzzled; he had thought the task was impossible. It was a great struggle for my son, but finally the five minutes were up—he did it! He set down the buckets and John was ready to award the prize when my son confessed the truth. Everyone had a good laugh, although no compressor was awarded.

My son's “triumph” in this situation was of little import, but his determination to continue is not unlike the resolve we need to overcome spiritual weariness in our Christian walk. While we would probably expect to need God's strength in our most trying times, we should not forget that we also need His help for “easy” times. We can become spiritually worn down even by simply serving faithfully in our callings and waiting on the Lord to fulfill His promises to us, so we must determine in our hearts that we will not be overcome with weariness.

God has promised to sustain us until we reach our final goal of Heaven, and today's focus verse points out that reminding ourselves of that goal is a good way to combat feelings of weariness. The Bible also says that those who wait upon God will be renewed in their strength (Isaiah 40:31), and Jesus promised rest to all who are “heavy laden” (Matthew 11:28). He will give us grace when extra grace is needed, and strength when our strength is gone. He does not want us just to endure weariness, but to overcome and live with joy and victory!

When we feel troubled and weary from the cares of life, Jesus is the answer. He takes the heavy part of the burden, and carries our weariness on His shoulders. We can lean on Jesus and His promises; our determination and His grace will take us through.