“… Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT)
Have you ever read stories about the pioneers heading west? I am an avid Laura Ingalls Wilder fan and as a little girl I pictured myself with her and Mary and baby Carrie, bouncing along in the covered wagon on the cusp of big adventure.
Historically, families headed west would start with full wagons. Furniture, family heirlooms and a year’s worth of supplies weighed down their progress. Often, the untried pioneer had misjudged his beast of burden’s ability to haul heavy loads over mountain passes and through desert stretches. This resulted in whole families traipsing beside their caravans and household debris all along the trail. They found, that in order to arrive on time and intact, they had to lighten their load.
What slows us down along the path of Christ?
Sin, of course. Big, obvious sin will slow and even stall us out completely, but steady, small betrayals will hinder all the same. Death by a thousand paper cuts, is the term, I think.
Maybe we aren’t wrestling with adultery, but our fierce commitment to comfort keeps us from fully engaging the cause of Christ. Maybe we’re still fearful about complete obedience to Holy Spirit’s leading, concerned about what He might ask us to say or do? Perhaps small affections of the heart have distracted and deterred from the absolute adoration He deserves?
When we wear these weights, our wagon is severely slowed down. We fail to gain the ground we were designed to take. We can wind up settling hundreds or thousands of miles from our intended destination, stuck in the ruts of our own choices.
“Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.” (Romans 6:13 NLT)
So essentially, dump anything out of our wagon that isn’t useful to the Kingdom. If we can’t bring God glory with it, we needn’t bring it along on the journey. Let it go now, before it can hinder us another day.
Lord, we recognize how sin and even lesser affections can inhibit our following. Forgive us. Help us unload our emotional wagons today; letting go of habits and hangups, even the small idols we’ve tucked into the folds of our luggage. Lighten our load and pull us out of the ruts that have dominated our journey. Let us run the race with endurance instead of dithering about in distraction. We want to live in unhindered forward motion toward You. Amen.