疲憊不堪。這是偉翔從事這份新的工作九個月之後的感受。身為基督徒，他在解決問題和領導工作上，都盡力想遵循上帝的原則。可惜與人有關的問題層出不窮，整個組織也似乎停滯不前，這讓偉翔很氣餒，一度想要放棄。

或許你也像偉翔一樣，覺得身心疲累。雖然知道該怎樣做才對，但精神和體力卻已耗盡，無法再繼續努力。千萬別氣餒！使徒保羅鼓勵我們：「我們行善，不可喪志；若不灰心，到了時候就要收成」（加拉太書6章9節）。在這裡保羅用農夫做比喻，而正如每一位農夫都知道的，撒種本來就是一項艱苦的工作。

「順著聖靈撒種」（8節）同樣是艱苦的工作。基督徒想要順從聖靈的帶領，過一個榮耀上帝的生活，也會有筋疲力盡、勇氣全消的時候。但若我們能緊抓住上帝的應許，就能迎接收成的時刻。我們所收取的乃是「永生」（8節，見約翰福音17章3節），也就是當基督再來時，會獲得上帝所賜豐盛的福分，同時在今生，會擁有因認識基督而得的信心與喜樂。我們會在適當的時候有所收成，這個時間並非取決於季節或氣候，而是那一位完美的上帝按祂的旨意而定。讓我們靠著上帝的大能繼續撒種，直到收成的時候。

Weary. That’s how Satya felt after nine months in his new job. As a believer in Jesus, he’d sought to follow God’s principles in the way he solved problems and directed the work. But people-related problems persisted, and little organizational progress seemed to have been made. He felt like throwing in the towel.

Perhaps, like Satya, you’re feeling tired. You know the good that you ought to do but simply feel too emotionally and physically drained to carry on. Take heart. The apostle Paul encourages us with these words: “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 6:9). He uses the metaphor of a farmer. And, as any farmer knows, sowing is hard work.

Sowing to “please the Spirit” (v. 8) is hard work too. Believers in Jesus who seek to follow the Spirit’s lead and live a life that honors Him can grow faint and lose heart. But as we hang on to His promise, the harvest will come. We’ll “reap eternal life” (v. 8; see John 17:3)—a bumper crop of God’s blessing when Christ returns, and in this life, we’ll have the confidence and joy that come from knowing Him. We’ll reap at the proper time, a time determined not by seasons or the weather but by the will of a perfect God. Until the harvest comes, let’s keep sowing in God’s strength.