Throw Off Everything that Hinders

What holds you back from accomplishing your goals and dreams?

Not enough time?

Not enough money?

Holding on to the past?

Low self-esteem?

No motivation?

No support?

Too distracted?

Too stressed?

Too tired?

An illness?

Fill in the blank with your excuse here _________ .

The list of excuses and reasons is endless. But life happens. 

Money gets tight. The car needs fixed. Kids get sick. Clothes get tighter. Your friends back out at the last minute. You're pulled in too many directions.

You can't wait until life is perfect before you start accomplishing your dreams. If you wait until everything is perfect, it will never happen.

But I've got GREAT news for you!

Hebrews 12:1 - 2 says, 
"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 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith"

So what does this mean for us and our goals, our lives, our futures in Jesus, for His glory?

Who tends to know you the best? The people you're around the most - friends, family, kids, coworkers, etc. These people likely see you at your best and your worst. When you've had ample time to fix your hair and makeup in the morning or when you've been up all night with a sick kid and have dark circles under your eyes. Which means they see you in your best moods and your worst moods. Maybe you've just received an unexpected compliment or maybe you've just caught the raw end of a deal. Let's consider these people your "clouds of witnesses." They see you for who you are, not who you pretend to be. 

Which means they they can also witness when Jesus radically changes your heart. 

Throw off everything that hinders, no matter the excuse or burden! Give it to Jesus!

But what does that mean? And how do you do it?

To turn something over to Jesus means to whole heartedly hand it over to Him by praying something like, "Dear Jesus, you understand the desires of my heart and you know how {insert hindrance} is keeping me from concentrating on living for your will and glory. Please help me with this burden so I can keep by heart fixed only on you. Help me to redirect my thoughts to you and your grace when I feel the burden start to take hold of me again, and help me to find peace in the fact that you're holding on to this burden for me, and nothing is too big for you."

So cast your burdens on Jesus (Psalm 55:22) and throw off everything that hinders you to run with perseverance the race marked out for us fixing our eyes on Jesus!

You may be saying, I don't run. I can't run. I'm never running. I'll never run. Thankfully that's not exactly what it means :) You won't have to pass a fitness test to get into heaven :)

To "run with perseverance" means to passionately strive towards your goal, letting nothing slow you down, discourage you or stop you from achieving your dreams! Disclaimer: if your dream is a fitness goal that is beyond your current comfort level, consult a professional before training! If you need a fitness professional, feel free to contact me! 

Passionately strive towards your goal for God's glory and run the race marked out for us fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

What is considered the "race"? It's the journey, the road, that leads you towards your goal--hopefully one that can show the goodness and glory of the Lord!

Let's visualize for a second. What is your goal? Or in this case, what is your "race"? What's something that you've always wanted to do but haven't had that chance due to the abundance of reasons? Maybe it's something fitness-related like running a 5k. Maybe it's something domestic like taking a cooking class. Maybe it's something extreme like skydiving. Or maybe it's something physical like losing a certain amount of weight.

Now take time to really imagine and remember everything that has hindered you from achieving this goal.

Now imagine the feeling you'll have as you run with perseverance to the finish line of the goal! Imagine the feeling as you take that jump from an airplane, as you taste the new dish you learned to cook, as you step on the scale and see you've reached our goal weight, as you cross the finish line after running a 5k! Achieving a Godly goal allows us to feel God's love and goodness in a way that is unfamiliar on a daily basis! The pride you feel in giving Him the glory is like a child knowing they've made their parents proud, no matter what the accomplishment was.


God is good! His glory is good! And His plan for your life is good! You can fully live in that goodness if you learn to be surrounded by a cloud of witnesses as you throw off everything that hinders and run the race He's laid out for your life!