‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up’ Galatians 6:9 (NIVUK)
There was once a beautiful aquaduct that was hundreds of years old. It was stunning, and brought water to the nearby town for centuries. More recently, the locals wanted to pay tribute to it. They decided they would do this by not using it anymore and by laying pipes instead. They wanted to honor the aquaduct by making it a monument. ‘We should put a plaque on it,’ they thought, ‘and let it retire gracefully from its long service, so that it will never be forgotten’. But the very attempt to commemorate the aqueduct, by ending its use, actually destroyed it. Within a few months it began to crumble, because water was not flowing through it any more. It was in its usefulness that it maintained its strength. When the aquaduct was being useful, it was at its strongest, because it was doing what it was made to do. After serving Yehovah for many years, there is sometimes a temptation to start to take it easy. King David, the warrior-shepherd, decided not to go to war in the springtime, ‘when kings should go to war’. Instead of being away fighting his enemies, he decided to stay home and rest. This is when we find King David on a balcony, looking at a beautiful woman, and the weakest, most feeble season of his life begins. In the very moment he abdicated his reason for living, he became weak. Are you still being useful to Yehovah and His Kingdom? Are you maintaining your strength? Determine now, that you will never give up working for Him – there is strength in staying useful!