To Encourage You

Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”

Often the Bible uses metaphors to help us to understand the invisible things of the Spirit that aren’t obvious to the natural man.  In the verse above the Bible talks about the life of faith as a “race.”  We’re all familiar with that word, for either we’ve competed in a race at one time or another, or we’ve at least seen others who have competed in them.  Immediately we think of something that involves great effort.  I remember running in track meets in high school.  My event was the half-mile.  It was a tough race that required endurance.  Before the race it was important to strip down as much as possible. You didn’t run in sweatpants and a sweatshirt. You didn’t carry your gym bag. You didn’t carry anything in excess of the bare essentials for if you did it was nothing but a hindrance rather than a help.  Similarly, in the “race” that is our life of faith, we are to rid ourselves of any “weight,” that will hinder us in finishing the course.  And so we ask ourselves, “what weights?” What are the kinds of things that might hinder us as we strive to follow our Lord?  Of course, there is sin.  Sin never helps anyone live a life of faith. It is always a hindrance. It’s always a stumbling block that slows our growth and diverts us in useless and harmful ways. It’s a waste of effort and a fruitless pursuit when it comes to this race of faith.  So, unless we confess and forsake it, we’ll never advance like we could have otherwise. 

Anxiety is another weight.  It’s useless. It’s the opposite of faith. Every moment we languish in anxious thinking is of no benefit to us in the end. It’s something we should get rid of, and we can if we will but trust in the Word of God. 

What about regret, such as the sorrow and discouragement we might have about past sins?  Does that help us? Has it ever helped a single soul? That’s why Paul urges us to be those who are “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.” He urges us to “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). 

Another weight: human philosophy, whether it be the self-help teaching that someone has dreamed up, or false religions that are the product of man’s own ideas. None of it will ever help us in our walk with Christ, for if we aren’t listening to this One Who is the source of all wisdom, we’re being hindered by those who provide something less.  As Paul warned his disciple Timothy, “Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge,’ for by professing it some have swerved from the faith” (1 Timothy 6:20-21).

The Christian life: it’s a race of endurance. May God help us to rid ourselves of every weight that hinders us, every sin that causes us to stumble, and oh so many other things that can do nothing more than impede us rather than help us in the life of faith.  May God help us to follow the example of the apostle Paul who could so wonderfully say at the end of his life, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Praise the Lord!