Endurance

by Rocky Fleming

Day Three

Scripture: “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.“
(Hebrews 12:1 NASB)

Thought:  In this passage we see a couple things that we should make note of.  First, growing in our endurance is like a long race …maybe even a marathon.  It is not a quick sprint to the finish line, such as a 100-meter dash.  It requires a slow, methodical pace with a strategy to finish the race.  The marathon runner has to be prepared for many things that will push him or her to drop out.  There is weather, fatigue, injury, and of course the pace the front guy is putting everyone through.  These contribute to a drop out.  However, the biggest culprit is discouragement, and this is why runners want people to see their courage with overcoming the challenges before them.  They want to hear familiar voices cheering them on.  These voices, along with our internal attitude of never giving up, causes us to overcome the discouragement we are feeling.

Another thing we see is the need to lighten the load so that we can run effectively.  A marathon runner cannot run a successful race wearing street clothes and heavy boots.  They will not be able to compete and will likely be unable to finish their race.  In a similar way, we must “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us,“to effectively run our Christian race.  Otherwise we may drop out, or at least we stumble through our finish line and barely finish.

Application:  So, how are you running your race?  The first check I must do with myself each day as I prepare for another leg of my spiritual marathon is to ask if I have any encumbrance or sin that I’m holding on to.  I know my heart can be right with serving, and I know my effort might be brave and gallant.  But I also know that I will not have the spiritual resource I will need if things are not right with my Lord and me.  A sinful condition that I hold onto will zap my strength and endurance.  My soul must be healthy to run my race the best I can.

What is an encumbrance?  Defined it means: hindrance, obstruction, obstacle, impediment, constraint, handicap, inconvenience, nuisance, disadvantage, and drawback.  It doesn’t have to be a sin.  It could be lack of faith, or fear, or lack of effort.  It could be laziness or discouragement.  These things debilitate a marathon runner, and you better believe they will do the same with our Christian race.  What do we do about it?  We cast them off.

Response:  As I shared before, the first thing I do each day is look into any area of my life and ask if there is something not right with God.  I also ask Him to reveal anything that I might not be seeing.  I know that it will make my race much easier to run without that extra weight of unconfessed sin or bad habits.  Allow this time to be a time of seeking the same answer for yourself.  Get that unnecessary load off, and get back into your race.  Run your race to finish well by setting your pace now.  Endure …and win.