The other day I was speaking with a friend about motherhood and she said she struggles with a lot of guilt. She said she knew God had forgiven her but she can't forgive herself. It made me so sad to hear that. I was reminded of Hebrews 12:1-2:
"1Therefore, 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. 2Let 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."
My friend has not yet thrown off the thing that hinders her (the guilt) so that she can fully run the race God has set before her. Her eyes aren't able to be completely fixed on Jesus, the one who took away her guilt so she could live the life He had planned for her.
Obviously she is not alone in her struggle to cast off the things that hinder her walk with God. As I was grieving for her I was reminded of my own struggles and how I feel so weak to let them go so I can run my own race.
I wanted to say to my friend, "God has forgiven you, just let it go!" but we all know it isn't that easy. You could see my struggles and tell me the same thing, but it is hard to let go of your own sins. They entangle us, as the verse says. This encounter caused me to really pray that God would help me to identify my burdens and sins (my baseless worries, anxieties, tempers, etc.) , see them for what they are (hinderances) instead of just accepting them as part of my life and my personality. I need to pray that I can follow the saints who have gone before us all. Hebrews 11 lists many of them and how they were imperfect people but they had great faith in God.
So how about you? What is hindering you from fully running your race before the Lord? I am not asking you to tell me, but I think it is a good thing to ponder and, most importantly, pray over. If you have received Christ as the payment for your sins, then your sins are forgiven and you can run full speed ahead! Cheers.
1 comment:
You have wonderful timing with your post :) We are studying that part of Hebrews as part of a Bible Study at PWOC. You are right about how hard it can be to follow those instructions!
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