Unnecessary Baggage

Imagine if you will, watching a bicycle race and there was one rider in the race trailing in the race by about a mile,  you are watching a football game and the score is 64-3 at half time, you are watching a marathon race, and there is a runner in the race walking at a slow pace, a mountain climbing expedition and one climber cannot even get off the ground while the others are at the top already shouting down at the other climber.

Well, you take a closer look at each of these athletes and you see the bicyclist has a small trailer on the back of his bike pulling it along with spare parts, upon examination of the football game the team loosing seems to be arguing everytime they get in the huddle, the marathon runner has a backpack on his back with 10 gallons of bottled water, and the mountain climber cannot get off the ground because he is trying to climb the mountain with rubberband as his safety harness.

Yeah, I know some of these are unlikely and to the extreme, but are they really? 

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race which is set before us.

So the question I have is what baggage are you carrying around needlessly?  There are so many things we all have that could be such a load on us, that it is hindering our growth, walk and interferring with the blessings that our Heavenly Father would have for us.

The writer specifically addresses weights.  Not every weight is a sin, but it is a stumbling block.  We carry around needless weights such as financial situations, family issues, friends-(yes friends that always seem to have problems- come to you for spiritual advice and never take the advice you give them, and they leave you feeling just as bad as they feel out of the love you have for them), health concerns that we have no control over-(look at Job-he had no control over what was going on with his health-but trusted God), and the list could go on and on.  These are not sins but they are weights which easily slows our spiritual walk with the Lord.

Some may have sins to lay aside also, such as pride, holier than thou attitudes, out of marriage sexual relationships-(yes contrary to popular belief there are people in church living together as man and wife though they are not) :) keeping bad company-in other words, being saved and not having separated yourself from your old way of living and this list could go on.

But whatever you are carrying around as a weight the author speaks of being surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  These witnesses did not have the Word, they did not have cars, homes as we know it with the cable, internet, satillete TV.  They did not have cell phones but yet they made it through the problems of life and made it in.  (If you are not sure of what I am talking about go back to the 11th chapter of Hebrews and read the faith chapter). No matter what we are going through we must remember faith.  God will provide all we need when we need it.  He will give us the strength we need to do exactly what He needs us to do at this particular season in our lives. And when you don't feel is though you have the strength to do what you want to do, He is the one who said My grace is sufficient.  He will keep you in perfect peace if we keep our minds on Him and trust in Him.  He is the one who said I will never leave you or forsake you.  He is the one who said once you are in my hand, no one can pluck you out of it.

The 2nd verse of Hebrews 12 says looking to Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith.  I made have said this before but I will say it again, an Author writes the book.  He writes the beginning and the end and because He wrote the beginning and the end we must realize that He also wrote the contents in between, so He knows what is going to happen and how it is going to end.  We are part of His plan in His book, therefore nothing is going to happen that is not a part of His plan if we live in His will and stay in His word.  As the Psalmist says "thy word is a light unto my path and a lamp unto my feet"

I think I said that backwards, but you get the picture, so today I would ask you if you are carrying any baggage around with you needless, look up, there are witnesses shouting from the balconies of heaven saying DON'T YOU GIVE UP, DON'T YOU QUIT, I MADE IT AND SO CAN YOU. YOU HAVE NOT COME THIS FAR AND GOD DID NOT BRING YOU THIS FAR TO LEAVE YOU NOW.  RUN, RUN, RUN I CAN SEE YOUR BREAKTHROUGH COMING, RUN, RUN, RUN GOD GAVE US THE STRENGTH TO MAKE IT AND HE IS GIVING IT TO YOU. 

There are people cheering you on just drop those weights and run to win your prize.

God bless you all

Mark

I'm ready to travel light!!  and bring along only what God needs for me to have.  He's slowly been lightening my load over the years - he's removed my need for worry and fear, material possessions, and monetary security to name a few, and is still chipping away my need for approval and laziness (or rather a lack of acknowledging my specific role in my family - I'd rather be outside,  visiting someone or running an errand, rather than cooking, doing laundry or cleaning the kitchen)