“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
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,
Hebrews 12:1
I am currently packing for a trip and am thinking of this verse! If you have ever traveled or taken a long hike, you know that the secret to success in persevering through the journey is traveling light! Spiritually that is true as well.
In my excursions, I’ve had to learn this the hard way, as I lugged around (that’s why they call it luggage) clothes and things that I didn’t need. I have actually left some of my belongings behind on trips because I was tired of hauling them around! One year, as I came home from our women’s retreat, where I had just challenged the ladies with this scripture in Hebrews, I could only laugh when I realized that my garment bag had been put on top of the van with the zipper open. I arrived home with much lighter luggage! Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor 😊
Two years ago, when Pastor Chuck and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in Scotland and Ireland, we purposefully only took one carryon luggage each for that trip! After the adventure, we both agreed that we had a much more enjoyable time because we weren’t weighed down with all the stuff! We knew we would be doing stairs and staying in hotels and castles where there would not be elevators, so we made a decision to travel light on that trip. We were the smart ones as we watched others trying to handle all their luggage. On the way home from that trip we landed in New York only to find out our next flight was cancelled! We spent another 24 hours before leaving that airport and we were so very grateful that we weren’t lugging all our bags around as we tried to figure out how to get the rest of the way home! I will admit that it was also nice to know that our belongings were sitting by our side and not lost somewhere in some other city’s airport! The one thing I am sure of is it is easier and more enjoyable if we travel light! And the same is true spiritually and emotionally for us!
The Greek word for “weight” in Hebrews 12:1 is ongkos, which means burden, it is the same as the word agkos which means a bend or ache from it’s load. We can all relate to the ache in our back or arms as we hauled too much stuff around! In Hebrews 12:1 Some translations use the word encumbrance and we know that an encumbrance is anything that weighs or slows us down! And in the text here in Hebrews, the writer is speaking of a person in a race. Why would we choose to weigh ourself and slow ourself down in this race of life.
Jesus is our example. We don’t see Him lugging all the stuff around. Jesus knew His Father in Heaven would provide for all his needs and He even challenged the disciples in the same manner in Matthew 10:9-10 (NKJV) Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
We are in a race the bible says. And this race is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Our life is short, I’m starting to realize how short it is. And just like in a race, we need to keep our eyes on the goal. It’s tempting to allow things to distract us from the goal – which is Heaven. We have so much stuff oftentimes and it is hugely distracting! We lug around our stuff for so long we forget why we needed it in the first place. We take on more that we should, we become burdened with care, with worldly distractions, with sin. We can even become burdened and overstretched with lots of good things; but we need to be careful that we don’t let all the good things keep us from the best things! At times we find ourselves so overburdened and overwhelmed we can’t do one more thing! We live our days so often feeling like there is so much to be done in our day that we can’t possibly get it all done, and we feel we are at our wits end, and we probably are. The reason we are here in this place of overwhelmed and overburdened is because we have become overloaded. How can we serve the Lord with joy when we have none?
What encumbers us? Well the writer of Hebrews tells us first and foremost, sin will weigh us down. Fear and unforgiveness weighs us down, bitterness, envy and covetousness, worldliness.. these are a few that come to my mind that I have had to deal with. The truth is that the Lord wants me unburdened. He wants me to come to Him with empty hands raised so He can fill them with what He has planned for me. When I come to Him empty handed with my hands lifted in surrender, unencumbered by all the things I have let weight me down; He fills me my life and heart with such good things. It’s at that moment I can lift my hands with the sacrifice of praise (Psalm 63:4) And His yoke is easy and His burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)
One of my favorite books is Pilgrim’s Progress. It’s a story of man named Christian on a journey to the Celestial City. Christian has a great burden he is carrying and one of my favorite moments is when he comes to the cross and that burden is released. Let me share a bit from it here:
“He ran thus till he came to a place somewhat ascending; and upon that place stood a cross, and little below in the bottom, a sepulchre. So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back; and began to tumble, and so continued to do so until it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.”
This always makes me smile. I know that sweet moment of a burdened released. This is how the Lord wants me to live each day. Burden free. He wants me to travel light!
May I inspire you today to take inventory of your spiritual luggage. What is weighing you down in the race marked out for you? What sin is in tangling your feet, making it hard to run? Remember this isn’t a 50 yard dash we are on – it’s not who gets there first. It is simply who gets there! Your path has been set; you will finish the race and even enjoy it if you travel light! Let me encourage you to get quiet this week and allow the Lord to speak to you about anything that might be burdening you down.
Max Lucado wrote in ‘Traveling Light” Odds are, you did this morning. Somewhere between the first step on the floor and the last step out the door, you grabbed some luggage. You stepped over to the baggage carousel and loaded up. Don’t remember do-ing so? That’s because you did it without thinking. Don’t remember seeing a baggage terminal? That’s be-cause the carousel is not the one in the airport; it’s the one in the mind. And the bags we grab are not made of leather; they’re made of burdens. The suitcase of guilt. A sack of discontent. You drape a duffel bag of weariness on one shoulder and a hang-ing bag of grief on the other. Add on a backpack of doubt, an overnight bag of loneliness, and a trunk of fear. Pretty soon you’re pulling more stuff than a skycap. No wonder you’re so tired at the end of the day. Lugging luggage is exhausting! What you were saying to me, God is saying to you, “Set that stuff down! You’re carrying burdens you don’t need to bear.”
As we read on in Hebrews 11:2 we find the answer! We need to fix our eyes on Jesus! It makes me think of Peter who took his eyes of of Jesus just for a moment…the problem was when he did he saw the waves swirling around him and he began to sink. In that split moment his faith faltered… why? Because he took his eyes off of Jesus!
My dear fiends, here’s the answer to traveling light… We need to fix our eyes on Jesus and keep them there! If we take them off and begin to see all the waves of circumstances, financial troubles, relationship strains, health issues, past hurts, we begin to sink. We cannot run the race the Lord has set out for us when we are so encumbered!
A few scriptures that I want to give you. Read these and allow the Spirit of the Lord to speak to your heart, encouraging you to travel light.
Philippians 4:19 (NKJV) And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesu
Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Psalm 27:14 (NKJV) Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!
Finally, I have a simple exercise for you…. turn to Psalm 23 and make note on all the ways your Good Shepherd takes care of you.
“My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.”
Billy Graham
My dear friend, is there an area of sin or disobedience in your life that you know the Lord is speaking to you, and you feel the weight of it. Sin can so easily entangle us – it is deceptive and sometimes it is easy to look the other way and tolerate it… but it is heavy and sin is sneaky, it builds up a wall in between us and God and keeps us from being effective. We need to learn to be quick to recognize sin, acknowledge it and repent of it. Get honest with God and spend some time in prayer as you release these weights of sin to the Lord and lift up those empty hands in surrender.
Can you think of a situation where you may have felt pressured to say ‘yes’, but you know you should have given a ‘no’ answer. Get quiet and ask the Lord to show you where you may need to say ‘no’ to in order to relieve some of the weight you are feeling if your schedule is overloaded?
Finally, I Peter 5:7 tells us to cast ALL our cares on Him for He cares for us. What cares are you carrying today? Max Lucado put it this way “There are certain weights in life you simply cannot carry. Your Lord is asking you to set them down and trust him. He is the father at the baggage claim. When a dad sees his five-year-old son trying to drag the family trunk off the carousel, what does he say? The father will say to his son what God is saying to you….“Set it down, child. I’ll carry that one.”
Be Inspired and Shine His Love to Others