THE REWARD OF REAPING

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” — Galatians 6:9

Introduction – The Law That Never Fails

The law of sowing and reaping is as certain as gravity. It cannot be bent, broken, or bypassed. What a man sows, he will reap — not what he intends to sow, but what he actually plants. The Apostle Paul, under the Spirit’s direction, writes to believers in Galatia who had become frustrated, disheartened, and fatigued in their spiritual labour. The work of God had slowed. Results were scarce. Paul answers their discouragement with unflinching realism: “Let us not be weary in well doing.”

The statement is both command and comfort. It recognises that weariness is possible — even probable — but insists it must not prevail. The believer’s hope is secured in the second clause: “For in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

This verse presents three realities: a command — do not grow weary; a certainty — the harvest will come; and a condition — if you do not faint. Every generation of saints must learn the same pattern: the reaping belongs to God, but the refusing belongs to you.

I. The Danger of Discouragement

Discouragement is spiritual corrosion. It eats through zeal and weakens conviction. Paul’s warning implies that even the most devoted can grow faint-hearted. The soil of ministry can be stubborn. The harvest may seem invisible. The fruit takes time.

Hebrews 12:3 admonishes, “For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” Christ’s endurance is the cure for fainting. The cross was His field, and the resurrection His harvest.

The Apostle knew this struggle personally. In 2 Corinthians 4:1, he confesses, “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not.” Paul refused collapse because mercy sustained him. Service is never self-sustained; it is mercy-sustained.

Weariness is not sin, but yielding to it is. The Christian must learn to plough through resistance. Spurgeon said, “By perseverance the snail reached the ark.” God never rewards mere activity; He rewards endurance.

II. The Certainty of the Season

“For in due season we shall reap…” — The harvest has an appointed hour, decreed by the hand of God. Due season is not our season. The farmer does not set the timetable; he obeys the rhythm of creation. So too the believer obeys the rhythm of providence.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” There is a season for sowing, a season for silence, and — in God’s unchangeable plan — a season for reaping.

The believer who lives by faith does not demand the calendar of God; he submits to it. Psalm 37:7 commands, “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him.” Patience is not passive — it is active trust under pressure.

James 5:7–8 gives the illustration: “Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth… Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts.” The farmer cannot rush the fruit. He tills, sows, and trusts the unseen process. Likewise, the Christian must work without seeing, believing without touching, and labouring without counting the outcome.

God’s timing is perfect because His purpose is eternal. If the harvest came too soon, pride would claim the credit; if too late, despair might steal the hope. “Due season” always arrives at the intersection of God’s glory and your good.

III. The Condition: “If We Faint Not”

The promise of reaping is conditional — “if we faint not.” The word faint in the Greek denotes collapse from weariness or surrender under strain. It is not the fall of the body but the failure of will.

Isaiah 40:29–31 declares, “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength… they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength.” The strength to continue does not originate in the saint but in the Spirit.

Hebrews 10:36 confirms, “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” The “need” is not more inspiration but more endurance.

The enemy cannot stop the harvest, but he can exhaust the harvester. Satan knows if he can persuade you to faint, he can prevent the fruit. The hands that hang down rarely see the field ripen.

D.L. Moody once said, “The reward for service is more service.” God multiplies opportunity to those who refuse fainting. Every trial endured increases capacity. Every struggle survived enlarges strength.

IV. The Perspective of Patience

Spiritual labour must be guided by eternal perspective. The sower who looks only at the soil despairs; the one who looks at the Saviour endures. Faith interprets time differently.

Romans 8:25 teaches, “But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” Hope anchors patience. It keeps the mind steady while the body toils.

Psalm 126:5–6 paints the picture vividly: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing.” The tears of the labourer water the seed of future joy.

History confirms this. William Carey, the “Father of Modern Missions,” laboured seven years in India before his first convert. He once said, “I can plod. I can persevere to any definite pursuit.” His plodding produced revival. God does not bless flash; He blesses faithfulness.

V. The Promise of Reaping

The phrase “we shall reap” is not possibility but certainty. The seed of obedience never rots in God’s field. The harvest may differ in form — sometimes fruit on earth, sometimes reward in eternity — but it will come.

1 Corinthians 3:8 declares, “Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.” God judges faithfulness, not fame. The reaping belongs to Him alone.

Hebrews 6:10 strengthens the claim: “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love.” Every unseen act, every quiet kindness, every word spoken for Christ — all are recorded, awaiting divine recognition.

The final reaping of eternity will reveal that no act of obedience was wasted. Even when the field looks empty, God’s eye sees the hidden sprout beneath the soil.

Spurgeon remarked, “The waiting saint never waits in vain.” The reaping is sure, the promise unbreakable, the Master unchanging.

Conclusion – The Reaping Is Worth the Rigor

The Apostle’s words remain the standard for every labourer of faith: “Let us not be weary in well doing.” There will be times of drought, of silence, of apparent failure. But faith endures where sight would faint.

The Christian’s life is a continual cycle of sowing and trusting — sowing truth, sowing kindness, sowing obedience, even when no applause follows. But in due season, when heaven’s calendar strikes, the reward will appear.

The reaping may not come when you expect it, but it will come exactly when God ordains it. The seed you sow today will feed someone tomorrow. The act of obedience you perform unseen will one day echo in eternity.

Galatians 6:9 stands as both a rebuke and a reassurance — keep doing right. Keep sowing. Keep trusting. The harvest is coming. “For in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Harvest follows endurance — not emotion. The faint-hearted forfeit the fruit; the faithful finish the field.