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I've Come Too Far to Give Up Now: Lessons from Galatians 6:9

  • Bishop Leslie Patterson
  • Jul 12
  • 6 min read

There are seasons in life when quitting feels like the only reasonable option. The weight of what you are carrying gets heavy, the road feels long, and the results seem nowhere in sight. But Galatians 6:9 speaks directly into that moment with a word that is as relevant today as it was when Paul first wrote it.


What Does Galatians 6:9 Actually Mean?

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." - Galatians 6:9 King James Version (KJV)

This verse is not just a motivational phrase. It is a promise rooted in the character of God. Paul wrote it to a specific group of people who were struggling to hold on to their faith, and the message cuts just as deep for believers today.


Who Were the Galatians and Why Does It Matter?

The Galatians were a people living in what is now central Turkey. Paul had brought the gospel to them, but after he left, false teachers crept in and began mixing legalism with grace. They started telling people that faith alone was not enough, that you had to earn your standing before God.

The Galatians were also described as fickle. Up one day, down the next. Excited about God on Sunday, worn out by Wednesday. Sound familiar?

Paul wrote this letter to correct them, to remind them of who they were and what they had already received through grace.


What Paul Covers Before He Gets to Verse 9

To understand Galatians 6:9, it helps to see what Paul builds up to across the entire letter.

  • Chapter 1: Paul establishes his authority. He was not appointed by man but by Jesus Christ Himself. His message was not his own opinion. It came directly from God.

  • Chapter 2: Paul testifies about what he has personally been through. His credibility comes from his experience with God, not just His theology.

  • Chapter 3: He confronts the Galatians directly. He calls them foolish for abandoning the gospel of grace and returning to a works-based religion.

  • Chapter 4: He calls their legalism elementary. Worrying about who sits where, who gets recognized, who has the most authority. That is baby religion.

  • Chapter 5: He teaches them about the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long suffering. These are the marks of a life surrendered to God.

  • Chapter 6: He lands on the challenge. Do not grow weary. Keep going. Your harvest is coming.


Why Do We Grow Weary in Well Doing?

One of the most honest frustrations a believer faces is watching people who do not follow God seem to prosper while you are struggling. You are praying, serving, trusting, and sacrificing. And yet it looks like nothing is changing.

Paul addresses this directly. He warns believers not to measure their relationship with God against what they see happening in the world around them. The world operates under a different system. Kingdom citizens belong to God, and God operates on a completely different timeline.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." - Ecclesiastes 3:1 King James Version (KJV)

God does not operate in time the way we do. What feels like an eternity to us is nothing to Him. He is from everlasting to everlasting, and when He shows up, He is always right on time.


What Is "Due Season" and Are You In It?

The phrase "due season" in Galatians 6:9 is significant. It is not just any season. It is the appointed season. The season that was set aside specifically for your harvest.

There is a difference between seed time, the time of waiting, and harvest. Each one has its own season. You cannot rush the harvest by skipping the seed. You cannot skip the waiting and jump straight to the reward.

But here is the promise. If you do not faint, if you do not quit, if you do not turn around, your due season will come. The harvest is not in question. The only variable is whether you will still be standing when it arrives.


Why Turning Around Now Would Be a Mistake

Think about everything you have already been through. The prayers you have prayed on your knees. The nights you cried out to God. The seasons of sackcloth and ashes. The moments when you did not know how you were going to make it but God made a way anyway.

To turn around now would mean walking away from everything God has already invested in your life. It would mean abandoning the very ground you fought so hard to stand on.

Your faith is not supposed to be based on where you are right now. It is supposed to be based on who God is. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." - Hebrews 13:8 King James Version (KJV)

What He did for you in the past is a preview of what He will do for you in the present and in the future. Every time He brought you through something, He was building your faith for the next chapter.


God Does Not Change Even When Everything Else Does

Culture changes. People change. Times change. But God does not change. That is not just a comforting thought. It is the foundation of your faith.

You may be in darkness right now, but He is your light. You may need healing, but He is your healer. You may be facing lack, but He is your source. None of those circumstances change who He is.

The danger Paul was warning the Galatians about was chasing after every new teaching, every new doctrine, every new voice that came along. God does not change. His gospel does not change. And His promises do not expire.


Practical Things You Should Not Stop Doing

No matter what season you are in right now, there are some things that must not stop.

  • Do not stop praying. Prayer is not just a spiritual discipline. It is your direct line to the God who holds your due season in His hands.

  • Do not stop serving. Serving others is one of the ways you sow seeds that will produce a harvest in your own life.

  • Do not stop trusting God. Trust is not a feeling. It is a decision you make every day, especially on the days when nothing seems to be working.

  • Do not stop believing. Belief that gives up is not really belief. Hold on to what God has promised you.


The Fruit of the Spirit Is Evidence You Are Still Growing

Paul reminded the Galatians that a life surrendered to God produces fruit. Love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. These are not things you manufacture on your own. They are the natural result of staying connected to God even when it is hard.

Joy does not come from your circumstances. It comes from the presence of God in your life. Peace does not mean the absence of trouble. It means God is with you in the middle of it. Long suffering means you are willing to trust God's timing even when it does not match yours.

These fruits are proof that you have not given up. They are evidence that you are still in the race.


Life Application

This week, identify one area of your life where you have been tempted to give up. Maybe it is a prayer you have been praying for a long time with no visible answer. Maybe it is a relationship, a financial situation, a health challenge, or a ministry you have been pouring yourself into without seeing results.

Make a deliberate decision this week to keep going. Write down what God has already brought you through as a reminder that He has not abandoned you. Let your past faithfulness from God be the fuel for your present faith in Him.

Ask yourself these questions as you reflect on this message:

  • In what area of my life have I been growing weary in well doing, and what would it look like to keep going anyway?

  • Am I measuring my relationship with God against what I see happening in the world around me, and how can I shift my focus back to who God is?

  • What has God already brought me through that proves He is faithful, and how can that history strengthen my faith for what I am facing right now?

  • Am I in a season of sowing, waiting, or harvest, and am I trusting God's timing in that season?

You have come too far to give up now. Your due season is ahead of you.


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