Wearied with Greatness

Isaiah 57:10

Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.

Those living in God’s blessings often don't know what they have until they have lost it. When looking back through history, one must wonder if those who were part of great works knew how great the work was while they were in it. I believe many knew that God was doing something when they had big days, but the mundane between those big days was not common, but great.

I had the privilege of being in the ministry of Dr. Jack Hyles. I believe many of us knew we were living in history, but I am not sure if we ever understood what we were seeing. You see, it was common in our world to see thousands saved and baptized yearly and to see people walk the aisles Sunday morning and night for salvation and follow the Lord in baptism. Our world was to hear the great preaching of Bro. Hyles. However, our world also took hard work. Our world took all day on Saturdays visiting people so our bus routes would be filled. Our days took countless hours of work to see the Pentecost Sundays where we saw over three thousand people walking the aisles for salvation and getting baptized.

It would be easy to become wearied with the greatness of our ways because our ways took hard work. However, our ways also brought great reward. We would only become wearied with the greatness of our ways if we focused on the long hours of work instead of looking at being a part of history and having God’s favor on our church. Let me be clear; Bro. Hyles could not have done this work alone, but he did it with the help of thousands of people who were willing to be involved in such a great work. The danger of being in such a great work is that we get used to its greatness and become wearied with it. I wonder how many people who were under Bro. Hyles’ ministry got wearied with the greatness of the way and missed out on seeing the great blessings God did in his ministry and with the people who worked with him. I wonder how many look back and wish they could see those great ways one more time.

My friend, never let the work of great ways weary you with the way. If you see souls saved and baptized in your church every week, you had better revel in the fact that you are making history, and do everything in your power to see those ways continue. Don't become wearied in the greatness of the way and become critical of those ways. You can always look to the other side and see people living and playing in the world and think you are missing out, but the only thing you are missing out on is the heartache the world gives.

Go ahead, go to the other church that lets you play and live in the world, but you will lose the results of seeing souls saved and baptized weekly. You can go to the other side and enjoy your Saturdays playing or going to the lake and fishing; however, you will lose the joy of seeing God doing a work in the lives of children and watching their lives turn into trophies of God’s grace. Yes, you can leave the great ways that seem to be so hard, but you will one day look back and wish you could have those great ways again. The best way to keep from being wearied in the great ways is to keep working them and rejoice in each blessing God gives in those ways. Never get used to them; soak every minute of the great ways in, and keep working them because it is worth it when you realize you are a part of making history.