by Dona Hake
“…let us drop every extra weight, every sin that clings to us and slackens our pace, and let us run with endurance the long race set before us.
We may feel alone, but we aren’t. We are surrounded by an army of witnesses. They have run the race of faith and finished well. It is now our turn.
Now stay focused on Jesus, who designed and perfected our faith. He endured the cross and ignored the shame of that death because He focused on the joy that was set before Him; and now He is seated beside God on the throne, a place of honor.
What does it take to run the race that God has set before us? Each of us have our very own race, and we need to understand what it takes to run this long race that requires an endurance that will take us to the finish line. This endurance and direction that we need can only come from above. Let us follow Paul’s instruction in this race that we are running. This scripture in Hebrews makes it pretty plain. First, we must drop unnecessary weight or anything that is keeping us from moving forward. We all have things that are trying to weight us down and we as individuals need to recognize what it is. I can remember hearing ” 50% of a problem is solved just understanding what the problem is.” As we acknowledge what our weight is, and humble ourselves to God and ask Him for help, He will surely help us. God loves to help us take off unnecessary “weight” and He has the perfect plan for us to lose that weight!
Secondly, we must stay focused. Anything that draws us away from keeping our eyes on a goal will be our hindrance. The devil understands our weaknesses and he knows how to distract us. He is crafty and understands how to throw us out of the game if we are not diligent to keep it right in our hearts and minds. He roams about like a roaring lion seeking ways to devour us. I love this quote I found relative to maintaining strong focus.
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.”
Henry Ford
Obstacles can serve to obstruct or hinder our progress or we can use it to make us stronger than before. Today I encourage you to run the race in the strength of the Lord. Take these two tips from Hebrews 12, and we will run strong in this race that the Lord has put before us. *Drop unnecessary weight and stay focused on the finish line!!! Let us go forward in our race set before us knowing our loving God is with us, and will help us cross the finish line victoriously!