Throwing off Every Hindrance
“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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2
Today I found myself weighed down and tangled in hindrances that have been slowing me for days. I found them exposed today as I carved out time to be in the presence of God. It was in that place that my cloudy thinking was disrupted by a ray of sun that broke way for fresh perspective.
It’s not a coincidence that I am speaking this weekend on the very things that God is allowing me to freshly walk through in real time. That certainly was not my plan to be revisiting some of these things at this time. To my flesh it would seem quite inconvenient and a confirmation that I am not qualified to deliver this message. Thankfully, God does not look at things the way that I do. It is His kindness that not only keeps me humble, but allows me fresh and tangible revelation to build my love, compassion, and delivery. We can’t deliver what we don’t carry, and we don’t carry what wasn’t developed within us.
As I was pondering this verse today for my upcoming message, it became clear that I needed to apply it to my own life immediately. Something was stealing my joy, but I hadn’t taken the time to identify it, I kept unsuccessfully trying to shake it off. As soon as I realized this, I dropped to my knees and asked the Lord to reveal to me any hindrances and sin that I was tangled up in. I wanted to throw it off. I opened my giant notepad to a blank page, grabbed a Sharpie and wrote at the top, “What is stealing my joy?” I then ‘threw’ every hindrance and awareness that the Lord put on my heart. I was surprised to see some of what was revealed under the point of my purple sharpie, but not all of it was surprising. The first thing that I wrote down for the “sin that so easily entangles” was, “negativity, complaining and grumbling.”
Under hindrances the list quickly grew, but most every one began with fear. “Fear of inadequacy, fear of misleading and misspeaking, fear of pride, fear of failure and fear of disappointing others.” I quickly noted that all of the things I listed were self-focused and fogging my lenses from truth and robbing me of peace and courage to move forward in faith and joy.
By exposing these hindrances and fears that were weighing me down, I exposed areas that I have not been trusting God. I have been looking solely at myself, which is a sure way in itself to lose my joy and produce fear. We tend to follow our eyes, which is why it is imperative to fix our eyes on Jesus.
One of the things I have become passionate about is exposing fear. Fear holds us back from who we are meant to be. Fear keeps us in the boat. I want to be like Peter who is brave enough to step out of the boat and onto the water as He looks at Jesus, because he trusts Him and yet is who the Lord still uses and has immense grace for when he flounders and sinks. I’m so relieved that I don’t have to do it perfectly. When I forget that, I feel overwhelmed by the waves and start to sink. The Lord just invites us to “come.” To trust Him. And I do not want to be one who shrinks back in fear. I want to push forward, throwing off every weight and hindrance and not getting tangled up in it. However, when I do find myself tangled up, I’m so thankful that I can run right to the “author and perfecter” of my faith and that He sets me free. Again.
