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, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)
The writers of the New Testament, on multiple occasions, give us the visual of a race as they talk about life (see Galatians 5:7, 1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Timothy 4:7). In today’s focal Scripture we are challenged by the writer of Hebrews to “run with endurance”. We are reminded that we should lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely as we run our race. The purpose of today’s devotion is to explore this question: what weight and sin is preventing you from running your race with endurance?
It is far easier to identify sin that may be hindering us from running our race, it is much more difficult to sense “every weight” that may be hindering us, although the weight within itself may not be a sin. I want you to know that as a follower of Jesus, each of us is called to run the race of life. None of us, even those of us who hate running, are excluded from this call. For the sake of argument, I’m going to assume that you are running (or are at least willing) to run the race. If you aren’t, I would challenge you to carefully and prayerfully consider why.
Over the course of my life, I’ve seen some races and believe it or not I’ve even participated in a few. At the start of most races, I would take off in a dead sprint. I didn’t realize the harsh truth… it isn’t only about how you start the race but also about how you continue the race that matters. Because I was never disciplined at running and never understood that consistency and rhythm were important, I would always lose steam and slow down (or sometimes even stop). Can you relate?
We spent day 8 looking at things that hinder us from having a more intimate relationship with Jesus. Those same things also keep us from running the race that the Lord Himself has marked out for us. The Apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 that we shouldn’t only run this race, but we should do it with self-control and purpose.
Over the course of this devotion, I’ve been challenging you in a general way, now I want to cut to the heart of the matter: what do you need to give up so you can get closer to Jesus? For some of you, today is the day that you are finally going to get off Facebook for good. For others, you are going to unplug the TV or maybe even cancel your cable. Some of you are going to stop working the odd jobs. For some of us, we are going to stop sleeping in every day. Whatever is keeping you from a closer, more intentional, consistent relationship with Jesus is going to be set aside.
It’s time to grab the paper again, I want you to make another list. Today I want you to write down the most important people and things in your life. I’d start by listing them out by order of importance. Once you have your list… continue on.
Now that you’ve written your list in order of importance, I want you to write beside each item how many hours a week you spend on each item. Your list my look like this:
Sample list:
God – 7 hours
Spouse – 15 hours
Kids – 15 hours
Work – 40 hours
Hobbies – 35 hours
Personal care – 7 hours
Church – 3 hours
Study your list. Now go back and reorder your list based not on the importance you gave each item but by the number of hours you’re giving to that item each week. Now your list might look like this:
Updated sample list:
Work – 40 hours
Hobbies – 35 hours
Spouse – 15 hours
Kids – 15 hours
God – 7 hours
Personal care – 7 hours
Church – 3 hours
Do you see it? You will make time for what (or who) is important to you. No matter who you are, you only have 168 hours in a seven-day week. Time is precious and you will never get it back. You don’t get a do over in this life… what do you need to lay aside today so you can focus on what and who really matters?
Father, forgive me for not being more honest about the sin and things that are weighing me down and keeping me from running my race with endurance. Lord, I confess I need more discipline and a better rhythm in my life. Help me run this race not in an all-out sprint but with endurance and consistency. Jesus, forgive me for anything and anyone I’ve put before you. Help me be honest with You and myself about things that need to change. Give me courage to be obedient and seek you daily, in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
