Summer Slide – Christian Summer Devotional

"Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." — Galatians 6:9

When I was a kid, I loved when my parents put out our Slip 'N Slide in the front yard each summer. All the neighborhood kids would come over to cool off, laugh, and have fun.

Recently my wife and I were lamenting the loss of carefree summers. We're not kids anymore; we have adult responsibilities. But there's still something in my brain, almost like a circadian rhythm, that's triggered by sunshine and summer heat that signals maybe it's okay to coast for a while. The structured urgency of adulthood duties starts to melt like a popsicle.

For anyone who tracked through Lent and Easter with any real intentionality, this Christian summer devotional starts with an honest question: what happens to your faith when the structure disappears? Summer can feel like the moment you finally set down a bag you've been carrying for months and tell yourself you'll pick it back up in September.

The problem is that bag rarely picks itself back up.

Paul had seen this pattern before — not just in individuals, but in whole churches. The Galatians had begun well. But somewhere along the way, they started slipping. So Paul writes with urgency: "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). The warning is built right into the encouragement. The harvest only comes to those who don't quit before the season changes.

The danger of summer, or any unstructured stretch, isn't dramatic failure. It's the slow drift. A few mornings where you don't open your Bible. A few Sundays where the routine is loose enough that skipping feels acceptable. A prayer life that shrinks down to gratitude before meals and not much else. None of that feels like quitting. But Paul names it anyway — you can grow weary quietly, without ever announcing it.

Jesus gave His disciples a similar heads-up in Luke 21:34: "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap." The trap isn't always obvious temptation. Sometimes it's just distraction — leisure and busyness wearing the same hat.

The antidote isn't to turn your summer into a Lenten calendar. It's simpler than that. Paul says elsewhere, "Train yourself to be godly" (1 Timothy 4:7). Training isn't a season — it's a way of life. An athlete's off-season isn't really off. It's a different kind of work. The harvest God is growing in you doesn't take a summer break. He is still at work in the quiet months. The question is whether you'll keep showing up to meet Him there.

Daily Practice: Your Christian Summer Devotional Challenge

Before the busyness of summer fully settles in, write down one spiritual habit you want to protect this season — reading, prayer, church attendance, serving someone. Keep it simple and specific. Then tell one person who will ask you about it in August.

Always improve the present moment.