What Weights Are You Carrying?

Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

Hebrews 12:1

What slows you down? Overcommitment? Too much stuff? Bad habits? Unforgiveness? Pride? Lust? Lies? Fill in the blank: _________________________

God tells us to throw off anything that trips us up or slows us down in our pursuit to know Him better. He wants us to lighten our heart loads as well as our physical loads so we are free to be about His business without being weighed down by guilt and regret, unconfessed sin and shame. If we deliberately do something we know is wrong, we are to simply stop, admit it, and turn away from it. This workout will be different for each one of us. Right now I need to

• recycle or throw away a stack of catalogs and magazines that are becoming weights;
• clean out a closet that weighs my spirit down to even look in it;
• throw away several old lipsticks;
• talk less in public and listen more.

I’m sure there are other weights I carry, throw down, and pick up again. I can trust the Lord to help me recognize and deal with them. I find that when I am reading His Word, if He brings something to my mind that is confirmed by His Word, I need to do it by faith.

We cannot fret over what weights other people are carrying because we have enough of our own that God wants us to drop at His feet so we can carry on! Obedience as spiritual exercise is the best kind of “weight loss.” It frees us to run forward in the race God has set before us and not get out of breath!

Let’s drop those weights of sin and opt for spiritual strength-building that comes from obedience to God’s Word.