Hebrews 12

A wonderful friend of mind encouraged me to meditate on Hebrews 12: 1-3. I decided to check out The Message's version of these passages too to get a fuller understanding of it. I wanted to share it with everyone!

Hebrews 12:1-3 is from the NIV:

"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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector 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. Consider him who endured such opposition form sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart...

And to continue on with The Message in Hebrews 12: 4-13

"In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?

My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,
but don't be crushed by it either.
It's the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.

God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!"

Wow, I feel so convicted.

Verses 1-3 really speak to me. Especially the part that says "let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverence the race marked out for us." My goodness. I have certainly felt so weighed down not only by my sin but by the sins of others that I'm struggling to forgive. I feel like I've been carrying around these burdens which have inhibited me from running the race to my full potential. It's like I've been trying so hard to run at a full out sprint, but instead I'm stuck speed walking with a blindfold on. The image of throwing off everything that hinders us is just so magnificent to me. I want to do that - I'm trying to do that now. I want to break free from the burden that I have been carrying and run with perseverance in the race that God has marked out for me. Because He has. He has a unique race set out in a purposeful, direct course for ME! All for me!! And all I have to do is trust that His path is the one that is best for me to run ALL the time.

The passage goes on to tell us to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." Holy cow. This verse so forces me to ask myself, "What am I focusing my eyes on?" Am I focusing my eyes on Jesus? Or am I focusing my eyes on the hurt that I feel? Or the need for attention from people of the opposite sex? Or Facebook? or Schoolwork? or Friends? The list could go on forever. But it says here in plain words that Jesus was the author and perfecter of our faith. He is PERFECT, and the example of how He lived His life is right there in the Bible for us to follow. But why is it so darn hard for us to fix our eyes on Jesus and only Him?

For me, I find myself doing something and thinking, "Oh, it's no big deal. It's not hurting anyone. I feel better because of it" or "It keeps me busy". But what the crap kind of reasoning is that? Just because something makes me feel better or keeps me busy or doesn't hurt someone else doesn't mean it's right and doesn't mean it isn't taking my focus away from the Lord. Because honestly, even though I think it's not hurting anyone, it's really hurting the most important relationship in my life - the one with the Lord. I'm really working to try to define exactly where my focus is so that I can refocus my eyes on Jesus and only Jesus.

Hebrews 12:4-11 is a stinkin' slap in the face to me, and I feel soo convincted. I'm not going to lie, for the past few months, I am guilty of feeling sorry for myself. But it says right here in so many words, DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR YOURSELF, STEPH. THERE ARE A BAGILLION OTHER PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO HAVE IT WAY WORSE, INCLUDING JESUS WHO DIED SO THAT YOU CAN LIVE AND LIVE TO THE FULLEST. What a jerk I've been? Yeah, sometimes things that happen in our lives hurt really bad and make us wonder why it had to happen to us. But like it says in The Message, God uses these tough times that we go through in order to train us and discipline us for the race. He knows that it's going to be tough; He knows that it is going to be a trying time for us. But He also knows that in the end IT WILL PAY OFF. A friend of mine, Alicia, said [much more eloquently than I will be able to write it] that God wouldn't demand something great from us in order to only provide us with something lesser in the future. No way. God will demand something great from us now in order to provide something greater than we can ever imagine in the future. I'm so comforted by those words. Sometimes we must sacrifice the most important things to us, but God will ultimately provide something so much more worthwhile in the future.

Hebrews 12 is just awesome. I want to encourage you to read it and meditate on it. God reveals the coolest things if only you take time to listen.