Doing the right thing takes energy, determination and dedication. The effort can take a toll on a person over time. So much so that we may be tempted to slack up or just give up.

It was that way with the Israelites in Malachi's day. The offerings they were making to the Lord were not what they should have been because the Israelites were tired of offering them. In Malachi 1:13 the Lord levels this charge against them: "'You also say, "Oh, what a weariness!" and you sneer at it,' says the Lord of hosts. 'And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?' says the Lord."

How much like these Israelites are we? Have we become tired of doing what we know we should do in the work and worship of the church? Do we even attend with the regularity that we should? And when we do attend, do we put our spirits fully into the worship? What about our home lives? Are we tired of striving to be the husband, wife, parent or child that God expects us to be? And what about our personal lives? Are we tired of an ongoing struggle against temptation; a struggle that we too often lose to our own shame and disappointment? The answer to such weariness is not quitting. The answer is finding renewed energy and a reason to keep going.

Here are three ideas from Scripture that might help you to keep going and continue serving the Lord with your best even when you are spiritually tired.

1. Remember Whom you are serving. The Lord reminded the Israelites that He deserved better than what they were giving Him. "'I am a great King,' says the Lord of hosts, 'and My name is to be feared among the nations'" (Malachi 1:14).

2. Remember the reward for which you are working. The farmer who quits farming in the middle of the growing season because it's hot and he's tired is not going to produce much of a crop. Even so, "let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart" (Galatians 6:9).

3. Draw strength from the Lord. God never gets tired. Isaiah asks, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary" (Isaiah 40:28).

Furthermore, "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength" (Isaiah 40:29). Ask the Lord to renew your strength. Wait on Him and trust Him to do it! For "those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).

Yes, living a righteous life takes a lot of tiring effort. But then, nobody knows better than Jesus. He showed us that it can be done! "For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls" (Hebrews 12:3).