📖 Biblical Definition
"Weariness in well-doing" names the temptation, especially upon long-faithful saints, to grow tired of doing right when fruit seems slow and reward delayed. Paul commands directly against it: "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Galatians 6:9); "But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing" (2 Thessalonians 3:13). Scripture does not deny that fatigue is real — it commands the refusal to faint. The promise is harvest in due season for those who do not give up. Pastors twenty years in, husbands thirty years in, parents discipling teenagers, missionaries on the long field — these are the saints most under this temptation. Keep going. Harvest is coming.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
WEARINESS, n. The state of being weary; lassitude of body or mind from continued exertion.
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1. The state of being weary or tired; that lassitude or exhaustion of strength which is induced by labor; fatigue. 2. Tediousness; impatience caused by continuance. In Scripture, especially the soul's temptation to grow tired in obedience and good works when reward is deferred.
📖 Key Scripture
Galatians 6:9 — "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
2 Thessalonians 3:13 — "But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing."
Hebrews 12:3 — "For consider him… lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."
Isaiah 40:31 — "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength… they shall walk, and not faint."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Treated as proof one has “outgrown” a season rather than as a temptation to fight.
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Modern self-care language mistakes well-doing weariness for divine permission to quit. “If it's draining, it must not be your calling.” Long faithfulness is sacrificed on the altar of seasonal alignment.
Scripture validates the fatigue but forbids the faint. Look to Christ, wait on the LORD, remember the harvest, and keep walking. The reward comes in due season—His season—not when our energy says it should.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek egkakeō and ekluomai — to grow weary, faint.
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G1573 — egkakeō — to be weary, lose heart, faint
G1590 — ekluomai — to be loosed, to faint, give out
G2872 — kopiaō — to labor to weariness
Usage
"Tiredness is permission to look up, not to lie down."
"In due season—not your season—the harvest comes."
"Faithfulness is mostly the refusal to quit on a Tuesday."