“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” – Hebrews 12:1
Every follower of Jesus has a race set before him or her. Every follower. God really does have a plan for your life. He’s prepared good works for you to do and there are disciples of Jesus Christ waited to be made by you.
Your race may be long or short. It may be fairly comfortable or extremely painful and difficult. It may show wonderful visible fruit for all the world to see or may be characterized by a hidden fruit known only to God. Regardless of what race God’s prepared for you, run it! Run your race with endurance. Run your race with total devotion and full integrity. Run your race in the knowledge that the saints of old are cheering you on. Run your race well.
To run your race well and endure to the end, you must do what the writer of Hebrews commands here. Get rid of the things holding you back. Get rid of the baggage of the past that makes you afraid about the future. Crucify the sins in your life that weigh you down and trip you up.
You may be doing great things for God but if you’re also stuck in some habitual sin, you need to repent of it and reject it forever. You must battle the sin that wraps around your legs and squeezes your lungs slowing you down. Whatever that sin is – pride, sexual immorality, anger, addiction, envy, materialism, jealousy, whatever – fight hard to kill it. Get help from other believers in this battle so you can truly leave it behind as you race forward to the thunderous cheers and applause of the faithful witnesses who’ve already completed their race!