Thoughts on Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, i had to write how the Lord spoke to me on my runs in order to run for Living Water. I find a lot of clarity on my runs, but as I wrote briefly for my essay, I clearly remember the Houston half marathon two years ago. Hope was five months old at the time, the same as Michaela, and I remember sitting at the worship inside of the George R Brown. It was one of those times when I just felt the Lord's presence. I remember praying for Him to be with me during the race. As I ran the race, so many Scriptures came to life for me.

However, Hebrews 12:1 was the one that was most readily illustrated for me. As I ran down Allen Parkway, both sides of the street were lined with spectators cheering the contestants on. At the Houston marathon, your name is printed on your bib. So, there were people I had never met before yelling for me, cheering for me, saying, "Good Job, Jen." "Keep it up." "You are almost there." It was incredible. It made me think, this must be how the men/women in the Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11) must be cheering us on. We have done it, now you can to. Focus on Christ who endured and conquered. Focus on Him. It's been such a great place to go back to over the years as I am enduring the hardships that come with life.

I love how Ray Steadman talks about this passage:

The verb form of this word "witness" (martureo) is used five times in Hebrews 11 (Heb 11:2, 4 [twice], He 11:5, 39) and always refers to the giving of a (confirming) testimony rather than the mere watching of an event. So I take the witnesses of Hebrews 12:1 to be the saints who have run the race before us, and have gathered, as it were, along the marathon route to say, through the testimony of their lives, "By faith I finished, you can too!... This is the way all the witnesses of Hebrews 11 are helping us. They have gathered along the sidelines of our race and they hold out their wounds and their joys and give us the best high-fives we ever got: "Go for it! You can do it. By faith you can finish. You can lay the weights down and the sins. By faith, by the assurance of better things hoped for, you can do it. I did it. And I know it can be done. Run. RUN!"...There are dozens and hundreds and thousands of those who have gone before and who have finished the race by faith and surround us like a great cloud of witnesses who say: "It can be done! By faith it can be done."

You see our lives are a marathon and by faith it can be done.

At the Sugarland half this past weekend, the next part of the verse was illustrated to me. "Let us throw off everything that hinders us." Let us lay it aside or strip it off. The Sugarland race began cold and raining. Brr. I had on a disposable rain jacket that kept me warm and dry. By about mile 3, I was hot and it was bothering me so I tied it around my waste where I felt like it was further hindering my run. I knew that in the miles to come I would have to keep retying it, adjusting it, etc. For me, it was easier to just get rid of it. So, I literally stripped it off (don't worry I had on another top under it) and threw it away. I couldn't run with it on. Interestingly enough, after the race, I was talking to a friend of mine who commented on the fact that she was upset that she had worn a jacket and hat. She said that she felt like it weighed her down. I believe that is exactly what this passage is calling us to do in our spiritual lives. To take off and throw away all that hinders our spiritual progress. Cast it off, get rid of it so that you can run with perseverance.

What is hindering your spiritual progress? What do you need to cast off?