Drivetime Devotionals October 12, 2026

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Each week you'll find biblical teaching, practical encouragement, and conversations designed to help you follow Jesus in everyday life.

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Welcome to Drive Time Devotionals, a look at scripture to help get your school or work week started with your focus in the right place.

I'm Katrina, the Director of Communications at Celebration Baptist Church.

Last week, I shared with you that I've been helping some of my family members who are dealing with medical concerns.

At the time, I was talking about some of the stress and anxiety that I've faced.

One thing I didn't talk about is how tiring it can be.

My mother is currently battling dementia.

Every other week I go over and spend an afternoon with her so that my dad can have some time off.

He's being a faithful husband and is her full-time caretaker.

But if I'm being truthful, every time I'm scheduled to go over, it becomes a little bit of a mental battle for me.

Part of me wants to quote unquote call in sick.

I love my mom.

She has been such a blessing to me through my entire life.

But being with her right now is mentally exhausting.

She repeats the same statements, the same questions, and the same concerns over and over and over again.

But then I remind myself, I'm only doing this for a few hours.

My dad, he lives it 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Giving him a few hours to take a break is just one small way that I can honor both my mother and my father.

And those few hours, while exhausting to me, are unquestionably a good thing to do.

I think all of us have things like that in our lives.

Things that are good, things that are important that God has called us to do, but that doesn't mean they're easy to do.

Caring for a family member can wear you down.

Parenting can wear you down.

Serving other people, doing the right thing at work when nobody seems to appreciate it, continuing to love a difficult person, serving in ministry, those can all wear you down.

Sometimes even doing good is exhausting.

And the Apostle Paul knew that.

In Galatians 6, 9 through 10, he writes, Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

Paul doesn't pretend we won't get tired.

There's a difference between being physically tired and reaching the point where we're tempted to lose heart, to decide that what we're doing isn't making a difference, isn't worth the effort, or is simply too difficult to continue.

So how do we keep doing good when things become exhausting?

First, we have to put our hope in the Lord rather than in our own strength.

Isaiah 40, 31.

This is one of my mom's favorite Bible verses all my life.

Isaiah 40, 31 says, But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles.

They will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.

Notice where our strength comes from.

It isn't in trying harder or being tougher, it's in trusting in the Lord.

Now that doesn't mean that Christians never become physically or emotionally exhausted.

Jesus himself rested.

Our bodies have limits, and sometimes the faithful thing to do is actually to stop and rest, ask for help or allow someone else to carry part of the load.

But our ultimate source of strength isn't our own ability to push through, it's God.

Nehemiah 8.10 says, Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Now there's an interesting footnote when you read the Christian Standard Bible there.

The word translated strength can also be translated as a stronghold.

I love that picture.

The joy of the Lord isn't asking us to pretend the painful things aren't painful.

We can cry, we can grieve, we can admit that something is hard, but our grief doesn't get the final word.

God is our stronghold, our fortress, our castle.

Our circumstances can change.

Our bodies can fail us.

People we love can become sick.

We can face situations we never expected to face, but our hope rests in something those circumstances cannot take away.

Jesus has promised us eternal life.

And Revelation 21:4 tells us that a day is coming when he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Revelation 21:4

Death will be no more.

Grief, crying, and pain will be no more because the previous things have passed away.

Now, that doesn't make today's pain disappear, but it reminds us that today's pain isn't the end of the story.

Second, we have to remember where our strength comes from.

One of the most quoted verses in Scripture is Philippians 4.13.

I'm able to do all things through him who gives me strength.

You've probably seen that verse on everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs, but Paul wasn't talking about winning a football game or achieving whatever goal we set for ourselves.

If you read the verses immediately before it, Paul is talking about learning to live through very different circumstances, having plenty and being in need, being well fed and being hungry.

Paul isn't saying Jesus will give me the power to accomplish anything I decide to do.

He's saying Christ gives me the strength to endure whatever circumstances he calls me to walk through.

That's a promise I need.

Because there are situations in life that I can't fix.

There are things I can't control, and there are times that I simply don't feel strong enough.

But I don't have to be because Jesus is.

The third way that we can face these difficult situations is to make doing good an act of worship.

Sometimes we think of worship primarily as something we do when we sing together on Sunday mornings.

And that's a beautiful thing and an important part of our worship lives.

But Romans 12, 1 says, Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

This is your true worship.

Worship can happen in a church service, but worship can also happen when you're changing a diaper or helping an aging parent, preparing a meal, doing your job with integrity when nobody is watching, or showing patience to someone who has asked you the exact same question 10 times in the last 15 minutes.

What would happen if we began looking at some of those difficult tasks differently instead of thinking, I have to do this again?

What if we prayed, Jesus, I'm offering this to you?

The task might not become easier, but its meaning can change.

What feels repetitive to me can still be worship to God.

Fourth, we need to dwell in God's word.

When we're weary, our thoughts have a tendency to run ahead of us.

We start thinking that I can't keep doing this.

This is never going to change.

I don't have enough.

I'm not strong enough.

That's when we need truth that is stronger than whatever we're feeling in the moment.

We need to read scripture, memorize it, write it down, journal about what it's saying to you, put a verse somewhere where you'll see it every day.

Not because we're pretending our feelings aren't real, but because our feelings aren't always telling us the whole truth.

When I think I can't do this, I remember I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.

When I wonder whether doing good matters, I'm reminded, let us not get tired of doing good.

And when I feel like there isn't an end in sight, the Bible reminds me that we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up.

And finally, don't walk the road alone.

We talked about community last week, but scripture comes back to it again and again because we need each other.

In Philippians 1 27, Paul describes believers striving together for the faith of the gospel.

Together.

Sometimes another believer can encourage us.

Sometimes they can pray for us.

Sometimes they can remind us of a truth when we're too exhausted to remind ourselves.

And sometimes what we need is much more practical.

Sometimes we need someone to bring us dinner, watch the kids for us, sit with an aging parent for an afternoon, give us a ride, take something off our plate.

My dad needs a break.

Needing that break doesn't mean he loves my mom less.

It means he's human.

And one of the ways I can do good is to step into that gap for a few hours.

That's actually where Paul goes immediately after telling us not to get tired of doing good.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

So maybe there's another question we should ask ourselves this week.

Not only where am I becoming weary, but also we need to ask who around me is becoming weary?

Who can you encourage?

Whose burden can you make a little bit lighter?

Who needs a meal, a phone call, a prayer, an afternoon off, or simply someone to tell them, I see what you're doing.

Keep going.

Sometimes we're the person who needs encouragement.

Sometimes God gives us the opportunity to be the encouragement.

And usually over the course of our lives, we'll get to do both, sometimes in the same day.

So if you're tired of doing something good this week, remember you don't have to pretend you're not tired.

You don't have to manufacture strength you don't have.

Rest when you need to rest.

Let people help you.

Stay rooted in God's word.

Offer the work you're doing to Him as worship, and put your hope in the one whose strength doesn't run out.

Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up.

Then look around, because there may be somebody else who's tired too.

Maybe this week you can help them keep going.

Have a great week, celebration family.

Thanks for joining us on the Celebration Baptist Church Podcast.

We hope today's conversation helped you take another step in your faith journey.

For more resources, upcoming events, and to join us live, visit iCelebration.org.

Until next time, keep connecting with God, connecting with others, and living on mission.