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. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)
What slows you down? Seriously. Is it a co-worker that just doesn’t work fast enough? Is it a family member that maybe cannot keep up? Or are there things in your life that if you let them go, you’d be able to run?
You know, things like intentional sin. At this point a lot of us check the box and say “Nope, I don’t do that.” But, maybe that’s not true. I don’t think I have intentional sin in my life either but every time I do something that I have felt convicted not to do, that’s intentional sin.
On the outside it can look really innocent. And all of our stuff looks different. What I am being convicted of is very different than what you are being convicted of. And I am going to make a bold statement; each and every one of us is being convicted about something.
Maybe the Holy Spirit is whispering that you spend too much time on social media or watching TV. Maybe he’s whispering about your diet or health. He could be talking about the worry you carry around or the need to be in control. He may be asking you to be kind to others and less critical. The list could go on and on.
God is talking to us all the time. He wants us to strip off, let go, drop the things that are keeping us from a deeper walk with him. At first glance, these things may not seem like such a big deal but he knows our hearts. He knows what trips us up. And he knows that if we would just let it go, we’d be able to run like the wind.
How do we go about doing this? Keep our eyes on Jesus. We can’t change or be changed by looking at the very thing that snares us. We have to look at Jesus. When we focus on him, suddenly our perspective changes and there is a clarity.
So focus. Focus on Jesus and keep your eyes glued to him. When you look back at your life, you’ll see how he changed you from the inside out.