“...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” Hebrews 12:1
Picture this with me. You are sitting in the grandstand of a sporting arena. You're there to watch the 400 m athletics race. Your favourite runner appears. You do a double take. Something's not right! Your runner is at the starting line but on his back is a heavily laden back-pack. That's not right, is it? How can he possibly run this race before him carrying this heavy load? Ridiculous!
Well, friend, my question at the outset of this devotion is this: If it’s so ridiculous for a runner to do so in a physical race, why then do so many of us attempt to run the Christian race with a load of weight on our backs? Many of us, if not doing so now, have at some point in the past, or will at some point in the future carry excess spiritual baggage.
What is it today that's 'hindering' you?
What is it that's 'weighing you down?'
You've been running well; you've been running long and hard, but you're growing tired. The weight on your back seems to be growing heavier with each passing stride.
Friend, can I say: "I get you! I know where you're at?" More significantly (much more significantly), could I say "Jesus gets you! He knows where you're at".
He knows the burden's getting heavy.
He knows the road is getting long.
Today, right now, will you pause! Breathe! Give it Him!
PRAYER:
Jesus, you know the road I'm on,
You know it's long and hard;
Take this weight that's wearing me out,
The excess baggage, help me discard.