Keep your eyes on the winning post

"let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."   

                                                                                                    Hebrews 12:1-2   NKJV 

We all carry weights and they come in the guise of, worry, sin, fear, stress and burden, just to mention a few. They can trip us up and hold us in captivity preventing us from meeting our target. They can become such a problem for some that they want to throw the towel in. Some fall away because the going is too difficult. Jesus never said the Christian road was easy, it wasn't for Him and it won't be for us either. However, now is not the time to quit. You've come this far, don't throw it all away now. Let me tell you, Jesus has sat down at the right hand side of the Father. He is not worrying about your baggage, so why are you? He wrote the book and you're in it. He knew the beginning and He knows the end. He knows the answer; authors do!

Sprinters strip their outer clothing off before a race, they lay them aside. If they don't, they will become a hindrance. Do you get the picture? Rituals then take place, this helps the athlete to focus on their goal - the winning post. They shut everything else out, they're hindrances. We need to strip off unbelief and those negative comments from well-meaning people. They cause us problems if we're not careful and they interfere with our focus, which is the finishing line. 

We need to keep our eyes on Jesus. We started the race with Him, it would be rather foolish to go it alone now; we would never make it. When we run a race, after a while it can become very difficult. Everything within our body screams at us to stop. If we agree, we lose. Jesus is the one who runs with us, encouraging us every inch of the way and if we listen, we receive that 'second wind', that gives us that extra energy to complete. 

Verse 2 states, 'who for the joy set before Him'. What was this joy? It was the knowledge that He had to go through that Friday to fulfil His goal - redeeming us but, His eyes were set on Sunday!

Keep your eyes on the winning post.

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