The Road

 

THE ROAD

Hello to all! Thanks for stopping in to read. The picture above is a picture depicting a triathalon, one of the most intense races that a human can put themselves through. In this race, the runner participates in three continuous events. Swimming, biking, and running for considerable distances has to be exhausting on the body. Yet these athletes will participate in numerous triathlons a year without giving up. 

Today's passage comes from Hebrews 12:1-13.

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, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³ For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. ⁴ You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. ⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
⁶ For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”

⁷ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? ⁸ But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. ⁹ Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. ¹¹ Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹² Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

How many of you have ever participated in some sort of event that just drained you. I'm talking about an event that you just thought knew your every weakness, and seemed to cut you down to nothing. How much more often do we face those opportunities in life? 

In the book of Hebrews, the author is reaching out to a group of believers who felt the same way. They were chasing after Christ and His teachings, but life didn't seem to be going their way. So the author writes a passage to tell them to persevere. This passage is no different. 

A few things that can be pulled out and learned from this: The cloud of witnesses surrounding us. He starts all of this off by pointing out that we are not alone. The race that we are asked to run is not easy, and yet God gave us the joy of being surrounded by others. One thing that I appreciate most about my friends is that even through hard times they are there. It appears as if God knows when I'm feeling weak and just confused, my phone always gets a text from one of my friends asking if I'm ok.

The author also points out the idea of how a father will correct us and we understand. This acts as a call to show us that God can ask us to correct ourselves to align ourselves more with His character, but will we be ok with it? If God asked us to stop hanging out with a group of friends, would we be ok? If that boyfriend/girlfriend wasn't there, would things be ok? Could we keep running?

I talked with a friend of mine recently, and we talked about happiness during the day. When discussing certain relationships in his life, I challenged him to look at them as percents that added to the overall happiness of his day. Of those how many of them had a big enough impact to change the way his day went. This presents a truth. If God is 100% of that happiness, then your days will always be filled with joy. Then the relationships you have been blessed with can only add to the day, not take away.

The last point about this is that it never seems good while you are in it. It is rare to be able to look at the situation and say that you like it. I have a friend who is a triathlete and he will be the first to tell you that training isn't easy. I have heard his workouts and they blow my mind. But these allow him to better run his race. This is the same for you.

Everything that is going on right now is no surprise to God. He sees this beautiful picture ahead, and is allowing you to work towards it. Triathletes get strained and weakened during the race, but how much more incredible is it once they arrive at the finish line and get to look back. 

The road may seem hard, but it is worth it in God's eyes. He wants the best for you, and is providing the best way to it.