BEING STILL WHEN ACTION IS ALL YOU KNOW...

"Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we  will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Gal. 6:9

For so long I've used this verse to remind myself that many give up, many grow weary of doing good, and I do not want to be in that group.  To me that means serving physically - taking food to someone or doing some kind of chore for someone who cannot do it for health reasons, a death in the family, or whatever. 

But my aching joints are telling me otherwise nowadays.

Being a stay-at-home mother for the last 20 + years and considering my job keeper of the home, I feel that cooking or cleaning for someone is what I do best and that's my best way to do good.  I taught children for many years and that felt good.  Serving in Women's Ministry through planning and executing events are also my way of doing good.

So my aching joints telling me to take a break is playing with my mind.

You might notice this scripture does not define what doing good is....do you suppose that's intentional?  Of course it is!  What does God's word say about doing good?  What good things did God do?  What kind of good did Jesus do?  Those are our models for GOOD.  Off the top of my head I can think of many examples of good, and I'm sure I could find more with deeper study.  I think about the creation story in Genesis.  Each day God looked at it, and said, "It is good." However God made this Earth, a work of his mind, a work of his hands; he reflected about along the way.  Micah 6:8 tells us what good is:  "He has showed you, O Man, what is good.  But what does the Lord require of you?  To seek justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."  Being still this morning and praying; connecting with the Father - that is good.  Praying for others - that is good.  Seeking justice for someone is action based to me.  But praying for justice is an action, too.  Loving mercy and walking humbly - those are a reflection of the Holy Spirit working in your life .

Psalm 37:3  says "Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness." I've heard from time to time that it is hard for older Christians to feel useful.  Aging robs of us doing so much action.  I've never thought of it this way, but maybe it's God giving us one more chance to draw near to him.  

So my conclusion here is that my idea of doing good has been action based in my life for many, many years. How about you?  Action in the name of the Lord is good.  But it will change, and change is hard.  The Holy Spirit is helping me see that doing good can mean reflecting, loving, being humble, and cultivating faithfulness through making connections, prayer, and Bible study.  

So take that, you aching joints!