Devotion 2: What’s Slowing You Down?

"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

I hate to lose. Like, I really hate to lose. I’m a pretty competitive person in any game that I play. I’m that guy who, when we play games as a family, plays to win. Otherwise, why play? My girls never beat me in “Chutes & Ladders.” I’m undefeated and make sure they know it often.

I’m also a rules guy. Basketball is the game that has been a staple in my life for years. I played in high school, refereed for many years, and coached at various levels. I know the rules of basketball well, and because of that experience, any sport I watch or play, as well as every game I play, I make sure I know the rules. Should you break the rules of a game you’re playing with me, you can rest assured that I will call you on it. I play to WIN! 

The writer of Hebrews likens our walk with Jesus to a race that we are running for the entirety of our lives. We are called to run with endurance while keeping our eyes on Jesus the entire time. In that call, the rules for this race are given to us. Really, it’s only one rule: keep your eyes on Jesus. The writer also gives us some pointers on how to finish well, one of which is, “Lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely.”

I’ll take you back to February 1996 (I know, a long time ago). I was a senior in high school, and we were playing in round one of the Division V CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) playoffs. My team was playing Mother Lode Christian High School, and they made sure to tell us that they’d never lost a home game in the playoffs. (I’m sure you can imagine that we used that as motivation.) At the end of the game, we were up one point with just under a minute to play, and they had to foul. I got the ball in my hands and was fouled immediately, giving me a 1-and-1 free throw situation (If I make the first, I get another free throw).

I stepped up to the line, and their crowd was going nuts! They were screaming, yelling, the band was being as loud as possible, and then their coach called a time-out to try to freeze me. Needless to say, I stepped up to the line, shot the first free throw, and I was a bit nervous. The ball hit the front of the rim, the back of the rim, then the front again before falling through. I was able to hit the second free throw and then do that all again two more times in the last minute to secure the win.

What would’ve happened if I got distracted by all the noise and screaming around me? What if I flinched as the drums were banging and trumpets blaring as loud as they could? We might have lost that game.

What are the stakes when we get our eyes off of Jesus and onto the weights of the world and the sin that entangles us? We get slowed down in our walk with the Lord. How do we get slowed down? We start to get frustrated, self-reliant, selfish in motive and deed, caught in sin, depressed, and anxious. Is there anything slowing you down today? Is there anything that you’re paying more attention to other than Jesus? What is capturing your attention more than Him? What is it that you need to lay aside?

Don’t listen to the clanging sounds of the enemy today. Focus on Jesus. Make your free throws and run your race with your eyes fixed on the One who loves you so much that He died for you.