Tag: A Word for Wednesday

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Losing Weights

Do you remember this scene from the movie, Forrest Gump? 1 Walking home with his friend Jenny, Forrest is bullied by boys throwing rocks at him. At Jenny’s urging, —“Run, Forrest! Run!”—he quickens his pace as fast as his leg braces will allow. As he picks up speed, his orthotics miraculously fly off and Forrest freely outruns his antagonists. “From that day on, if I was going somewhere, I was running!” he recalled.

In last week’s post, we observed “each stride—each calendar page—counts” as we “run with endurance the race that is set before us.”2 As such, the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to “lay aside every weight that clings so closely”3 —to burst free of every obstacle. So what do our spiritual constraints look like? What hindrances slow us down, and what burdens wear us out? Let’s expose a few and, to each, speak truth that sets us free.4

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”5 So lay aside the weight of forgiven guilt.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm . . . and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”6 Hence throw off the unbearable weight of legalism, and stand guard against its return.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”7 Then leave behind the penalty of sin and any fear thereof.

“I [Jesus] chose you out of the world.”8 So, strip off worldliness—“the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life,”9 “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches.”10

“[Jesus] shared in [our] humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”11 In this assurance, cast off the fear of death and run in the promise of life.

God has assigned to each of us a measure of faith, and even with “faith like a grain of mustard seed,” 12 nothing is impossible. Rid yourself of the fear of inadequate faith; act in “the measure of faith that God has assigned to [you].” 13

We could go on to speak of other weights—the weights of resentment, accusatory judgment, self-pity, control, or assuming spiritual burdens through natural strength. In every case, our call is the same: to embrace truth that sets us free, and to run with endurance the race that is set before us.14

Yes, Father, we desire to run free from all that would trip us up or hold us back. Send Your Spirit to remind us of Your Word, embolden us in truth, and inspire us to endure for the joy set before us. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Zemeckis, Robert, director. Forrest Gump. 1994; Paramount Pictures, 1994. 2hr, 22 min.
2,3 Hebrews 12:1
4 John 8:32
5 1 John 1:9
6 Galatians 5:1
7 Romans 8:1
8 John 17:19
9 1 John 2:16
10 Matthew 13:22
11 Hebrews 2:14-16
12 Matthew 17:20
13 Romans 12:3
14 Hebrews 12:1

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This Day Counts

If I could capsulize life in my 50s, it might sound like this: “Gee, I wish I’d learned this lesson thirty years ago: [fill in the blank].” Life itself is a great teacher—the tough lessons tend to be the most impacting—and the godly wisdom that deepens with age is simultaneously revealing, liberating, and humbling. Yet early into my 60s came another realization along the maturation process, a far different one, and that is this: even if I live well into my 80s, I am on life’s last lap and can glimpse the tape fluttering at the finish line ahead. Though sobering, this heightened awareness is not a bad thing; think of it as the bell announcing the last lap of a distance race—it focuses us on our destiny and inspires us to dig deep and finish strong. Moses appealed to God through psalm, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”1 Amen, Moses, we need the perspective of finality.

Reaching the bell lap of a race, one realizes that each stride—each calendar page—counts. It’s not that our days grow more important as we grow older, rather as they become fewer, we begin to understand what has been true all along—our lives have Kingdom purpose, and each day dawns with a fresh call to meaningful action. Our obedience, in turn, bears eternal Kingdom fruit—souls saved, needs met, offenses forgiven, hurts healed, and spirits lifted. So, recalling the psalter, the writer of the Hebrews epistle exhorts us, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”2 Offer them, instead, for God’s glory: “Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness,”3 wrote Paul.

Younger believers, though the finish line seems so far away, almost conceptual, keep striding in commitment; it will become clearer, as will your understanding, as you stride toward it. And older believers, consider this as you muster your kick, the final sprint of your last lap: the victory lap awaits.

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, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

Father, direct our gaze to the finish line, that we would comprehend the importance of every day. Show us what You would have us do today, and bless us as we go. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Psalm 90:12 NIV
2 Hebrews 4:7 (cf Psalm 95:7-8)
3 Romans 6:13

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At the Heart of Thanksgiving

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. —1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

He was isolated from the healthy population—his leprosy had sentenced him there—and to some degree, a social outcast, a Samaritan living somewhere along the border between Samaria and Galilee. So, as Jesus entered his village, none of the locals, and least of all this man, could have predicted his imminent moment of fame, forever after scrivened into the annuls of Scripture. What was his heroic feat? Simply this: he said, “Thank you.” Though Jesus healed ten lepers that day, only he, anonymous to us for now, returned to his Healer, teeming with gratitude. “He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.”1

Sometimes we confuse excitement with gratitude, but they are not the same. We can gush over a gift received, for instance, yet undervalue the heart of the one who lovingly gave it. Such was the case with the nine other lepers healed that day, as Jesus noted, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”2 Therein lies the crux of the matter: thankfulness honors the heart of giver; it appreciates the person behind the gift. So, in this season of Thanksgiving, take time to consider and laud the heart of God in all circumstances.

Thank Him for His limitless love and faithfulness. “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.”3

Thank Him for His attentive mercy and protection. “Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”4

Thank Him in good times. “Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.”5

Thank Him even in a fallen world. “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”6

Father, You are good to me. Attune my heart in gratitude to You. Hear me now, and receive my thanks . . . In Christ I pray. Amen.

1 Luke 17:16
2 Luke 17:17-18
3 Psalm 108:3-4
4 Psalm 18:6-7
5 Psalm 111:1-2
6 Habakkuk 3:17-18 NIV