Introduction: Do you ever get down? Perhaps you are down in the dumps today as you read this devotion. Our prayer is that our Lord Jesus will “pick you up”! As a matter of fact, it seems that when we are down but are willing to pick up someone else, we in turn are lifted up. Do you think that is what the Apostle Paul meant when he was inspired to write this letter to the Galatian believers?
By the way, when we are willing to pick up someone else, it helps us to “move on” and stay faithful to our calling, thus fulfilling our purpose. Check it out:
1. Will you pick someone else up who has fallen down or is carrying a heavy burden? (Gal. 6:1–2) – “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
Did you notice while reading this text that whether someone has fallen or is carrying a heavy load, our Lord encourages believers in Jesus Christ to be available to lighten their load—either by “picking them up” or by helping them “carry a heavy burden.”
Look at the technical meaning of these words bear and burden. Bear is the word βαστάζω, which means to bear, carry, or literally take up. Now focus on the word burdens. It is the word βάρος, which means burdensome or weight. You get the picture!
Help someone, if you can, to carry a big weight. The weight may be emotional, spiritual, relational, or financial. Regardless of the need, we are to help carry the load by the grace of God.
2. Will you “keep on keeping on” or quit? (Gal. 6:9) – “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Look at the word weary. What does it mean? Better yet, are you weary? It means to be utterly spiritless, or it can mean to be wearied out or exhausted. The word is ἐγκακέω.
Are you feeling tired and exhausted with all that you need to do? With the demands of life and the responsibilities as a parent, grandparent, or citizen, it can be very taxing at times. But remember—stay focused on God’s plan for your life as you navigate through this world. After all, it is His life working in and through His people by the power of the Holy Spirit that brings glory to His name. That is what keeps us from growing “weary in well doing”!
Conclusion: Now that we can put these two truths together—helping carry someone else’s heavy burden will encourage us to “move on” and not quit because of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. So pick up and move on!
Love y’all,
Dr. Randy Reese
