This is an interesting passage to read because one would surmise that it's critical advice for those who see much labor but little fruit for their labor. I think many people misunderstand cause and effect. Many people think that the cause of one immediate thing should often produce an immediate effect and often times that is just not the case.
I'm sure that Paul saw a lot of his dear friends in Galatia experiencing this type of frustration, as I'm sure many were falling away from their faith because they were being faithful in doing good, but it wasn't quite producing the results they were imagining it would. He felt the best way to respond to this type of frustration was to show others that there indeed was a better way, but sometimes the better way is not always revealed at what we would consider "the right time."
More often than not when I wallow in my frustration with doing good but seeing no results God always reminds me of this passage in Isaiah 55:8-9 "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you can imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." This was God's way of helping me understand that there is a higher purpose at work that I can't possibly fathom.
Could it be that what you thought was leading to nothing would indeed be something that would be life altering for you? I mean I would consider a harvest of blessing to be life altering for sure. My advice to you is to keep moving forward, keep grinding, keep up the good work, because you just never know when that harvest would show up in your life. But I do guarantee that it's going to be enough to alter the course of where you were heading. That's just how God works.
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