Lay Your Burdens Down (Part 2)

If you were at the starting line, about to run a big race that you had spent months training for, would you wrap weights around your ankles? Would you tie them around your waist? Would you wear a backpack full of weights? Would you carry them in your hands? Of course not! Why? Because running a race is hard enough, and if you want to win, then you want to be as light as possible so that you can move faster and easier. Weights of any kind would just slow you down and wear you out faster.

Hebrews 12 compares the Christian life to a race. Verse 1 says, “Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.†What are these weights? The Bible says that sin—anything we do or think that goes against God’s good ways, that doesn’t flow from faith in Him—will cause us to trip. And at one time, all of us were completely weighed down by sin. But praise God, He has set us free from the power of sin! Jesus “personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right†(1 Peter 2:24).

If we’ve put are trust in Jesus, we are totally forgiven, and we are called to lay aside the sin that hinders us from running the good race. To lay aside our weight and
sin isn’t a one-time thing, and I think we forget that. As Christians, we continue to struggle with sin. But because the Holy Spirit lives in us, we can daily turn away from sin and back to God. Every day, we can ask ourselves, “What is causing me to trust myself more than Jesus?†The author of Hebrews reminds us to run with patience and endurance because the race is difficult. Yet God is with us through it all. He is dedicated to us, and He empowers us to be dedicated to Him. • Mary Garner

• What weights are getting in the way of you trusting and following Jesus? Consider spending some time talking to Him about these in prayer and asking Him to help you lay them down.

• Sometimes, hobbies, relationships, etc. can get in the way of us following Jesus, but usually the problem is sin, such as the love of money, the seeking of power or status, etc. Who is a trusted Christian who can help you discern what is and is not a weight in your life?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)

Read Verses:

Heb.12.1-Heb.12.3