“…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)
God’s dream is to see you walk in His Word and manifest to the world the greatness He placed within you. Fulfilling your God-given purpose, dreams and aspirations is like running a race. And if you’re going to successfully run that race as a child of God, you have to lay aside every weight; that is, every distraction, burden or impediment, and run with patience, with your gaze firmly fixed on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).
“Weight” is any trait or character that’s not of God, capable of hindering you from attaining to your God-given potentials. Pride is a typical example: The Bible says God resists the proud, but gives more grace to the humble (James 4:6). Talking about Jesus, Paul said, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:8-9)! Jesus ran His race and won.
You too can win your race by laying aside pride and every other attitude that’s not of God, because such things frustrate the grace of God upon your life. So, I encourage you to give attention to learning God’s Word, because it’s the material for renewing your mind (Romans 12:2) and taking on the character of Christ.
