Hebrews 12:1 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”
As we wake each day to “run with patience the race that is set before us”, we must be ever vigilant, for “weight” and “sin” will severely slow us down and can even stop us if not disposed of. Fundamentally, the “race that is set before us” is our energetic and faithful service to our Lord. A distance runner tries to keep the “weight” they carry to an absolute minimum and constantly watches for obstacles that will trip them. Excess “weight” robs the Christian runner’s strength and “sin” will cause the runner to trip and fall and injure themselves. Excess “weight” is any thing that will slow us down; such as, fear, loneliness, heartbreak, confusion, discouragement, despair, anger, and false doctrines. We will surely trip and fall when we are distracted by “sin”; that is, those things that we lust after (James 1:13-16) will cause us to disobey our Lord and fail to “keep” His “commandments” (John 14:15). The devil is aggressively trying to use this Coronavirus issue to “weight” us down and to trip us and cause us to fall. We counter the devil’s evil quest by “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). To “lay aside” the “weight” and “sin”, is to spend our time “Looking unto Jesus”; that is, thinking about Him, learning of Him, praying to the Father in His name, reading His Word, talking to others about Him, singing Hymns about Him, participating in His Church, showing love to each other, striving to help each other, and obeying Him. So, let’s not give in to the devil and let him “weight” us down and trip us up with “sin”; let us, learn from Peter’s experience (Matthew 14:27-31), let’s keep our eyes on the Lord!