Growing up, one of the worst parts of school for me was gym class, specifically the mile run. Running was not my forte in high school. I much preferred when we were playing tennis, or baseball, or pickleball, or anything other than running just for the sake of running. But after I graduated, I joined a gym and guess what? I started running. It took a lot of time, but I built up my endurance and even ran a few 5K’s. Please note, speed was never my goal, but I was so proud that I could run those long distances. Compared to where I was in high school, it was a major accomplishment. (Now, my toddler literally runs circles around me!) The youth class just talked about running on Sunday. Not running for physical training or sports, but rather running in the spiritual race that each of us are called to.
While I’m sure most of us have heard this passage in Hebrews, notice that it’s a passage that talks about running:
“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. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)
I’ve heard this passage, read it, and listened to it be preached on probably more times than I can count. But I’m a firm believer that it doesn’t matter how many times you read the Bible, you can always find something new, something that sticks out to you because of the season of life you’re currently in since those seasons are always changing. That’s what happened to me on Sunday as I heard the youth break this scripture down.
To be surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses means to surround yourself with people who see you in this spiritual race and who will come alongside you to support you. I think of a story shared by my childhood best friend’s dad who’s been a bicyclist for years. He travels on weekends to different states just to bike because he absolutely loves the sport. Well, a few years ago he was diagnosed with cancer which caused him to lose a lot of his endurance. But he would ride with his friends and they would surround him, putting him in a position to draft which gave him the advantage of least pressure behind the other cyclists. Since he didn’t have as much wind resistance, he was able to conserve his energy while working to build back his endurance. (Praise the Lord he is cancer-free today!) His team of cyclists came around him to build him back up, just as Christ-loving Christians should do for our brothers and sisters.
Now, if you’re a runner, I doubt you would go out on a run in winter boots and a big heavy coat. Even in the winter, runners wear lightweight clothing so they are not slowed down. They remove anything that would hinder them from going the distance. It’s the same in our spiritual race; we need to throw off the sin that entangles us and tries to stop us from completing the race. Consider this passage from Ephesians:
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24
Like a big, heavy winter coat that hinders us, we are to take off our old self when we come to Jesus and begin our race. In its place, we put on our new self found in Jesus. Jesus tells us in Matthew that “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30) But this doesn’t mean that the race is going to be a cake walk. There are plenty of legs in our race where we may find ourselves crawling to get to the next one, but God isn’t going to forsake you. We each need to run the race set before us; I can’t make my daughter run the same race I’m running. Rather, she is going to have to run the course Jesus has set up for her. But I can be there as a support system for her when she needs it. When we persevere, even through those crawling stages and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, we will make it to the finish line.
Jesus ran His race all the way to the cross where He was crucified. Even though He prayed to God in the garden that if it could be accomplished another way that the cup would pass from His hand, God came alongside Him and gave Him the endurance He needed to see His race through to the end. Jesus knew the ultimate joy that was before Him and He endured the hatred, malice, bitterness, and sin so that we could look to Him and not grow weary. What an amazing testimony that 11 of the 12 disciples willingly died horrific deaths for Jesus’ name. They endured. They ran their race. And they didn’t lose heart.
My race will look different from yours because it has been laid out for me. And I have choices as to how I'll run my race. I can choose to stop, grow weary, and lose heart. Or, I can decide to try and do it myself. Or, I can choose to fix my eyes on Jesus and continue running my race, persevering to the end. So, let me ask you to take a moment and assess where you’re at right now in your race. Are you running strong, feeling no sense of fatigue? Then consider coming alongside someone who’s crawling to build them up. Or, are you walking? Then, I encourage you to throw off those hindrances which can slow you down. Or, maybe you are crawling and feel ready to throw in the towel. Please don’t give up. Rather, fix your eyes on Jesus and see that He is at the right hand of the Father cheering you on!
In Christ,
Becca Drumheller
