Galatians 6:9-10
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The verse uses two related but distinct Greek words for "weary" and "faint." It urges us not to lose heart or courage ("weary") in doing good, because if we don't become completely exhausted or lose our strength and will ("faint") to continue, we will eventually reap the reward.
Paul is wrapping up his letter, shifting from correcting the Galatians' misguided focus on the Law back to living by the Spirit. He's just reminded them that those who sow to please their sinful nature will reap destruction, but those who sow to please the Spirit will reap eternal life. This verse serves as an urgent encouragement to keep persevering in that good, Spirit-led living.
Ever feel like you're pouring your heart into something good, only to feel drained and ready to quit? Paul understood that feeling.
Paul uses the picture of a farmer to encourage believers not to give up when doing good.
The Farmer's Patience
Just like a farmer waits patiently through planting and growing seasons, trusting that the harvest will eventually come, we are called to persevere in doing good. It’s not about instant results, but about faithfulness over time.
Two Sides of Giving Up
Paul distinguishes between being 'weary' and 'fainting.'
Both are temptations we face when our efforts to do good seem to yield little. Paul urges us to resist both.
What if the good you're doing today is planting seeds for a harvest you won't see until much later? Paul says that's exactly the point.
The promise, 'in due season we will reap,' is a powerful assurance for those who persevere in doing good.
God's Perfect Timing
'Due season' isn't determined by our impatience or our visible results. It’s 'in God's own appointed time.' This could mean receiving blessings or seeing fruit from our labor even in this life, or it could refer to the ultimate harvest at the end of time. The key is that God's timing is always perfect and purposeful.
The Harvest of Goodness
Even if the full reward isn't seen immediately, the act of 'doing good' itself is a spiritual harvest. When we act generously, show kindness, and serve others, we are sowing to the Spirit. The reaping, whether in this life or the next, is the assurance that our faithful sowing is never in vain. This reward is ultimately tied to God's judgment and the eternal life He promises.
Understand the original words
ekkakeō · Greek Verb
To lose heart, become discouraged, or falter in one's commitment to godly living or mission, often due to trials or the delay of expected outcomes.
kairos · Greek Noun
The God-ordained timeframe or specific moment when His purposes and promises are fulfilled according to His sovereign plan.
oikeios tēs pisteōs · Greek Noun/Adjective
The community of believers who are united through faith in Christ, viewed as a family where God is the Father and members have reciprocal responsibilities to one another.
This passage uses the same agricultural metaphor of patient waiting for the harvest, directly linking perseverance in good deeds to God's appointed time, just as a farmer waits for rain and crops.
1 Thessalonians 3:13This verse speaks of God making believers 'blameless and holy' at the coming of Christ, echoing the idea that our present 'well-doing' is sustained by the hope of a future, complete reward if we remain steadfast.
Matthew 13:30Jesus' parable of the wheat and the weeds highlights that the final separation and reaping (the 'due season') will happen at the end of the age, reinforcing the need for patient perseverance in our current labor of doing good.
Romans 2:7Paul assures believers that God will give eternal life to those who 'by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality,' directly connecting enduring goodness with the ultimate reward.
Hebrews 12:3This passage encourages believers to consider Jesus, who 'endured such opposition from sinners,' so that they 'may not grow weary and fainthearted' in their own spiritual race, paralleling the need for endurance in doing good.
cambridgeGalatians 6:9: "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
9 . The metaphor which runs through these verses suggests a caution. The husbandman after committing the seed to the ground, ‘waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it … Be ye also patient,’ James 5:7-8 . The mention of ‘life everlasting’ might seem to make the time of reaping so distant as to grow dim to the eye of hope. It is difficult to go on sowing in faith and…
vincentGalatians 6:9: "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
Be weary (ἐνκακῶμεν)Lit. faint or lose heart. Comp. 2 Thessalonians 3:13.In due season (καιρῷ ἰδίῳ)In the season which is peculiarly the harvest-time of each form of well-doing. See on Galatians 6:5.Faint (ἐκλυόμενοι)Only here in Paul. See Matthew 15:32; Mark 8:3; Hebrews 12:3, Hebrews 12:5. Lit. to be loosened or relaxed, like the limbs of the weary.
The verse uses two related but distinct Greek words for "weary" and "faint." It urges us not to lose heart or courage ("weary") in doing good, because if we don't become completely exhausted or lose our strength and will ("faint") to continue, we will eventually reap the reward.
Paul is wrapping up his letter, shifting from correcting the Galatians' misguided focus on the Law back to living by the Spirit. He's just reminded them that those who sow to please their sinful nature will reap destruction, but those who sow to please the Spirit will reap eternal life. This verse serves as an urgent encouragement to keep persevering in that good, Spirit-led living.
Paul is wrapping up his letter, shifting from correcting the Galatians' misguided focus on the Law back to living by the Spirit. He's just reminded them that those who sow to please their sinful nature will reap destruction, but those who sow to please the Spirit will reap eternal life. This verse serves as an urgent encouragement to keep persevering in that good, Spirit-led living.
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"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." — The verse uses two related but distinct Greek words for "weary" and "faint." It urges us not to lose heart or courage ("weary") in doing good, because if we don't become completely exhausted or lose…
