Are you feeling tired, stressed, worried, worn down? Then this is an opportunity to learn a valuable lesson and apply a life-changing spiritual principle. When you are weary, you must go to GOD for strength.

“[L]et us not be weary in well doing,” the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 6:9. Paul knew our natural tendency to start strong, then relax, then grow weary, exhausted, lacking spirit. Even true Christians experience this. But God wants us to do well, to “do good unto all men” (verse 10)—not temporarily or in short bursts, but steadily, consistently. The Christian life is not about relaxing and coasting but about sustained effort and constant growth.

“[F]or in due season we shall reap,” Paul continues in verse 9, “if we faint not.” The word faint is related to releasing, as if unloosing a tightened bowstring. God wants us to commit so wholeheartedly that we keep working, faint not and ultimately reap a wonderful, eternal harvest.

Why do we grow weary in welldoing? If you are “well doing” rather than floating along the path of least resistance, there will be times when you begin to feel the limits of your physical and mental energies. If you are battling your human nature, worldliness, the pulls of an ungodly society, and temptations from the devil, then the battle in your mind is crucial. Often, weakness enters when we allow our minds to focus on ourselves, putting our energies toward the “flesh” (verse 8). We grow weary when our priorities are off.

But there are laws of physical, mental and spiritual success that you can apply.

Herbert W. Armstrong, who lived a long, demanding life of striving to “do good unto all men,” knew from experience that these laws of cause and effect are revealed in the Bible. In a booklet titled The Seven Laws of Success, he wrote that the first such law is to have the right goal, and the right goal is not making the flesh comfortable but rather doing the will of your Creator. Keeping your eyes on that goal can help power you through tremendous challenges! The second law, he wrote, is proper education, and the third is good physical health, which is required for clarity and energy of thought. The fourth law is drive. The idea that mentally prodding and driving yourself with strong determination will wear you out is false: As Mr. Armstrong wrote, you will rust out far before you wear out—if you keep the third law. The fifth law is resourcefulness—finding a way around obstacles. The sixth is perseverance—sticking with it to the end.

“Then comes the most important of all, the seventh law, which is the guidance of, and faith in, and reliance on God the Creator,” Mr. Armstrong wrote (Worldwide News, Nov. 15, 1982). This is the law that most people, even the most “successful” by worldly standards, ignore. But the reality is, the strength you need for true success can come only from God!

You were born to develop the mind of your Creator. And this is a remarkable quality of His: “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?” (Isaiah 40:28). Yes, God is eternal and immortal—yet think of all the disappointments He has experienced throughout history. Think of the ingratitude, injustice, wickedness and horrors He has witnessed and been subject to. Think of the many times He has seen someone start strong, then weaken and proceed to ignore, neglect and betray Him and others. Such experiences are wearying, dispiriting, exhausting. Yet God never gets overwhelmed, never becomes jaded or cynical, never withdraws. He is always ready for a fresh battle, always ready to step out and risk another love relationship with another potential son.

You need that same steadfast spirit—and only your Creator and Father has it and can give it to you. Once you believe and obey Him, you will find an unlimited supply of such power. You will be connected to the Being who fuels trillions of stars, who sustains the entire universe!

Read His wonderful promise: “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (verses 29-31). “These verses constitute a promise from God, and I apply them and rely on God to keep His promise!” Mr. Armstrong wrote. “Many times when people ask me, ‘How do you do it?’ or ‘What’s your secret of such youthful vigor and such long life?’ I just tell them, ‘Read the last four verses of Isaiah 40. You’ll find it there!’ Of course God expects us to do our own part, He does for us what we can’t do for ourselves! But when you put both together—your own best and add to what God can do that’s beyond what you can do—you’ve got a combination that pays off!” (ibid).

Never resign yourself to weakness, negativity and failure. Believe God’s promises. Obey Him. If you stick with Him, He will stick with you. Go to God for your strength!