The Strength to Stay: Leading with Endurance When You Feel Like Quitting

Leadership can be quietly exhausting. You're doing all the right things—showing up, serving faithfully, leading with vision—yet still wondering if any of it makes a difference. That hidden weariness is exactly what we're tackling in this powerful episode centered around Galatians 6:9.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." These words from Paul acknowledge the reality of leadership fatigue while offering profound hope. What makes this verse particularly challenging is the phrase "at the proper time"—a frustrating reminder that God's timeline rarely matches our own. The harvest is coming, but on His schedule, not ours.

Through personal stories and practical wisdom, I share three leadership truths that have sustained me through seasons of doubt: First, faithful leaders continue sowing even when the soil feels dry. The most important work often happens underground, invisible to everyone including ourselves. Second, rest isn't quitting—leaders burn out not because they work hard, but because they work empty. Finally, look for sprouts rather than applause. Leadership growth shows up in tiny moments that remind us why we started in the first place.

Whether you're leading a ministry, running a business, managing a team, or raising a family, this episode offers the encouragement you need to keep going when quitting feels tempting. The harvest is already in motion, even when you can't see it yet. Ready to find renewed strength for your leadership journey? Listen now and discover how to stay faithful when the fruit isn't visible.

In this heartfelt episode, Danita invites leaders into an honest conversation about what it means to keep showing up, even when the results feel invisible. Inspired by Galatians 6:9, we reflect on the quiet but powerful endurance it takes to lead well and live faithfully.

Stay tuned for an upcoming conversation with Dr. Christie McMullen — bringing neuroscience and soul together to help sustain your leadership journey.

Scripture: Galatians 6:9
 Take the Leadership Clarity Quiz and book your free coaching call at www.danitacummins.com

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Theme Introduction
• 1:37 The Weariness of Leadership
• 3:22 The Promise in Galatians 6:9
• 6:07 Three Leadership Truths for Perseverance
• 9:56 Looking Forward and Final Encouragement
• 11:09 Coaching Program and Closing

Transcript

Danita: 0:05

Hey friends, welcome back to Entrusted to Lead the podcast where we talk about what it really looks like to lead well, live fully and stay grounded in your calling. I'm Denita Cummins and I'm so glad you're here today. This month we're diving into a theme that's been on my heart for a while the strength to stay. It's based on Galatians 6, 9, which says let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Listen, I know what it feels like to do all the right things, to show up to serve well, to lead faithfully and to still wonder is any of this making a difference? If you've ever felt that kind of exhaustion the quiet kind that doesn't make the highlights real then today's conversation is for you. So grab your cup of coffee and a cozy blanket and let's get started.

Danita: 0:59

Leadership can feel really heavy sometimes, especially when you're carrying vision and people and purpose all on your shoulders all at the same time. You have got a big mission, but the strategy feels fuzzy and your team is looking at you for clarity that you're not sure you actually have. I get it. It's hard. I'm Danita Cummins. I help faith-driven leaders like you find clarity, align with your values and lead with confidence, without burning out, because that's never okay. If you're ready to get unstuck, lead your team with courage and to turn that God-given vision into a strategy that really works, I want us to talk. Take the free leadership clarity quiz that I've created today and I want you to schedule your no-pressure coaching call, because together we can uncover what's holding you back and how to move forward in faith and confidence.

Danita: 1:55

There's this moment that I remember very clearly. It was late, I was still answering emails, it was probably like two o'clock in the morning. I'm trying to keep my team afloat, prepping for a board meeting, and I'm wondering why I was even trying so hard. I thought, lord, I am doing really good things, I think, but I am so tired and I don't even know if it's working. Maybe you've been there too. You're planting seeds, you're showing up for your family, you're serving your clients, you're running your business, you're leading your ministry, but nothing seems to be blooming and it just keeps getting heavier and heavier and heavier.

Danita: 2:32

I don't think we talk enough in leadership about how we can feel lonely and discouraged when we're sowing into people or projects and we're not seeing immediate fruit. But Galatians reminds us that there is a promise in the planting, even when we can't see it, friend. So today we're going to talk about that promise. Galatians 6.9 says don't grow weary in doing good. Why? Because at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we don't give up. I love that Paul acknowledges the weariness. He's not saying hey, dude, don't feel tired. He's saying don't let that tiredness take you out of the fight. And the phrase at the proper time. Well, that's super frustrating and a little irritating, if I'm honest, because it gets me every time. It reminds us that God's timeline is not our timeline, which is super frustrating. And God tells us there is a harvest that's coming, but it's on his schedule. And the other point I'd like to make is that the harvest is what God believes. The harvest will be, not me, dude. That is so hard for me, if I'm honest, because in my mind I have a very clear vision of what harvest and fruit are supposed to look like. And then that big if, if you don't give up, that if holds a lot of weight, because it means that the harvest isn't just about what you've planted, it's also about whether you stayed the course.

Danita: 4:06

In the book Promise Over Purpose. I talk about the obedience of faith and I call it the crucible of obedience because it is. It can be a crucible, you know, like you are just enduring, there's a hit and a slap, and it's like American Ninja Warrior. I love that show. I keep telling myself and my kids that I was going to go on there one day, but probably not. You're not going to see me on American Ninja Warrior, but I just think, man, that's sometimes that's how life is, you know, and we run the race that God has called us to run, but we say those little terms and we don't realize running a race is exhausting.

Danita: 4:44

You know it's a lot. Your feet hurt, your ankles hurt, you get blisters, you might get a cramp here or there, you know so, and, and for most of us, we just want to sit down on the side of the track for just a little while. And then sometimes, if you've run really hard and I don't know anybody who's out there listening, who's like in your car right now laughing. But you know, when you work out really, really hard and you're like I think I'm going to throw up, I literally think I might just throw up. That's exactly how life is, but we don't talk about those things. We don't talk about them in leadership. We're like I think I might throw up now, but no, we just keep talking about how shiny and great and wonderful it is.

Danita: 5:21

But I think God knows all those things and Paul is one of my favorite teachers in the Bible, just because I have such empathy for his journey of grace. Like I can't even imagine what it was like to be him right, to persecute Christians, to have all of this head knowledge, all the doctrine, all the theology, to be very good, to be very successful as a scholar and as a student of the word and of the law, and then to radically be blinded, literally on the road to Damascus, where God's like hey, you got it all wrong, dude. That had to have been such a humbling experience for him. So the question today is how do we keep going when we feel like quitting? So I'm going to give you three simple leadership truths that I have learned the hard way.

Danita: 6:07

Number one you sow even when the soil feels dry, which is counterintuitive. I know Faithfulness isn't always flashy. Sometimes the work is underground, always, there's always work happening underground. The impact shows up later in ways that you never will expect and I share, my two grandfathers were both farmers One plowed fields and the other one raised cattle and so I grew up as a little girl in Oklahoma, where my grandfathers were both farmers, and so I got to see what it was like to bale hay and I knew what it was like to go outside and pick green beans until your backside just hurt. I remember the hours and hours as a little girl when my mom would be canning in the kitchen, all the things, all the fruit of our harvest, so to speak. I remember my dad going down to the river and collecting sand plums and my mom spending hours making lots of batches of plum jelly. So I just remember this like life of canning and farming and reaping what you sow in reaping what you sow, and so there is hard work to it, and it is the faithfulness of getting up and plowing and planting, even when you don't see anything growing, because you are believing and trusting in the promise that has yet to come.

Danita: 7:27

The second one that rest isn't quitting. I want you to hear me, because rest is something that I have struggled with for many years, but pausing is not the same as giving up. Okay, jesus rested, he went out on a mountain and he slept which I'm not really into that, but maybe you are but you are allowed to rest. And I am the biggest, worst critic when it comes to this. I would always be like no, no, no, we have to keep going, we have to keep going. But the reality like no, no, no, we have to keep going, we have to keep going. But the reality is no, no, you don't. As we say. Jordan Rainer tells us in Redeeming your Time in his book which is amazing, by the way he tells us that you will die with things on your to-do list. So that was very freeing for me.

Danita: 8:05

So leaders burn out not because they work hard, but because they work empty. So write that down. You empty, so write that down. You're not burning out because you work hard. You're burning out because you are empty and you have to protect your margin. And there's a whole series on margin, so we can talk about that at a later date. And number three look for sprouts, not applause.

Danita: 8:28

Christine Kane she wrote analogies about a relay race and running the race that God has called you to run, and I always remember this. She says in the book that you give the baton to the person that's running, and I think that is so true. You give the baton to the person that's running. From a leadership perspective, you don't give the baton to the person that's a little loudest or clapping the loudest or has the biggest platform. You give the baton to the person that's running. So it's tempting to wait for the big ta-da moments, but leadership growth often shows up in tiny ways A team member who steps up, a client who sends a thank you, and a small win that reminds you to keep going. And so, as leaders, we have to remember that about ourselves. It's not about the big wins. Those are great and wonderful, but nine times out of 10, it's going to be those small, little bitty sprouts that are really going to show us where growth is actually happening.

Danita: 9:23

Later this month, I'm talking with Dr Christy McMullen, and she's a leadership coach and neuroscience expert who helps people find clarity in the chaos, which I love, and I can't wait for you to hear that conversation, because she has some powerful insights in what it takes to sustain the leadership long term. She brings the science and the soul together in a way that just makes you go. Yes, this is exactly what I needed to hear. So if you're feeling stuck or worn down, I want you to stay with me this month. This conversation with Dr Christy will lift your head and will help you take the next right step forward. So before we go today, friend, I want to leave you with a question, because I'm always trying to help you see and grow.

Danita: 10:05

Where in your leadership right now are you tempted to give up? Is it a project, a person, a dream? Maybe it's a prayer that you've prayed a hundred times? Prayers are hard. That's a whole different conversation about faith, praying without seeing empty hands. But I encourage you to take five minutes today just five again, doesn't have to be an hour and write down that area of discouragement, and then I want you to write this verse next to it At the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. That's your promise. That's your reminder, friend, that God sees your faithfulness. Even when the fruit isn't visible, the harvest is already in motion. Thank you for being with me today.

Danita: 10:54

If this encouraged you, would you please do me a favor and share it with a friend or a fellow leader? I would absolutely love that. And if you haven't already, please go ahead and subscribe to the podcast and the newsletter, so you don't miss a single episode or a bonus tool that we send out. And if you want to talk about your leadership journey or you'd like to get clarity, pop over to my website. Schedule a discovery call. I would love to talk to you.

Danita: 11:18

I am doing leadership coaching, which has been super phenomenal. It's a really great opportunity for me to help people like you who are faith-driven leaders. You don't have to serve in ministry. Maybe you're bivocational, maybe you work in industry or government and you work in a completely different environment but you're struggling to try to see the connection between your faith and your work life. I love helping leaders come up with tools and frameworks. I've got some great resources that we've developed to give you the tools and to help you walk through that, so it's a 90-day coaching program.

Danita: 11:46

I would love to share it. Great resources that we've developed to give you the tools and to help you walk through that. So it's a 90 day coaching program. I would love to share it with you. So pop over to the website and schedule a call. Okay, friend, I hope you have an amazing summer, I hope life is treating you well and you're getting some free time, and I just want to make sure that you remember to keep showing up every day, even when it hurts, because you matter. All right, friend, I'll see you later. Bye.