Galatians 6:9 “Do not be weary in well-doing, for in due season you will reap if you don’t give up.”

Life is not easy. In our world of microwave ovens and fast food restaurants, we can subliminally embrace an ‘expect it now’ mindset. We push icons on our phones and if it doesn’t produce an app immediately, we know something is wrong. The internet is down or we are out of range. Instantaneous response is our expectation.

This mode of operation carries over into the other aspects of our life. We don’t realize it, but we impose this instant gratification requirement on everything. We want to see immediate results when we diet, work out, save money, invest money, work, “fill in the blank.” We have little patience for activity that doesn’t produce results immediately.

Warning: there is a problem with this mindset. Many things in life don’t work that way. Regardless of technology and advances in human ingenuity, some things in life don’t come easy. It is imperative that we understand some things in life relate more like a farmer planting seeds in a field. He has to tend to it for months, protecting it from the weather, guarding it from scavengers, and tending to the soil, keeping it watered and aerated.

Some things in life take time, require long hours of work, and don’t appear to be working right away. And yet, if you are patient, you will reap a harvest if you don’t give up. Don’t quit. The best things in life don’t come with the push of a button. They come as you stay focused and work hard.

Prayer: Father God, we live in an “expect it now” culture. My kids have grown up in a context that requires little waiting or patience. Give them the courage to wait for the best things in life. Teach them the strategies of sowing and reaping. Help them not to give up until they have reaped the rewards of their seeds. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.