In my last post, I wrote about running the race of life well by keeping the end in mind. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, we can endure our own “crosses” for the joy set before us (Hebrews 12:1-2). This is how we live above our circumstances and take hold of the peace, love, and joy that we’re promised here on earth (John 14:27, Galatians 5:22).
Today, I’m sharing about “hindrances” that can entangle us as we run—impediments that keep us from reaching our full potential in Christ and achieving the purpose God planned for us.
After I surrendered my life to Christ, I went through a three-year period where God stripped away false beliefs, unhealthy behaviors, and attachments to worldly things that prevented me from running my race well.
And then, just when I thought God was done, He allowed the core of my ministry to dissolve. The thing I loved to do, led others in and was extremely passionate about—health & fitness.
My original ministry, Fueled Fit Focused, was about whole-person wellness. It was a ministry I’d built from the ground up. Before my chronic pain began in October of 2018, I was an avid athlete, runner, and personal trainer. I was what some even referred to as a “picture of perfect health.”
When this happened, it wasn’t the first time God allowed something I’d built to be knocked down. In 2018, He asked me to let go of the teaching materials I’d poured ten years of my life into. Letting go of those materials, my career plan, and the foundation of my ministry to God were among the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. But, each act was a step of faith to move in the direction God was calling me to go.
Reconstructing our lives when we face unexpected change, grief, or loss is painful.
Unlearning what we thought was important in life is hard.
But, when we’re willing to surrender what we want (or think we deserve) for what God has to give, we discover something better.
Freedom.
Peace.
Trust.
Renewed strength.
A steadfast faith in God.
The Lord stripped away the old to make room for the new—a new ministry and a “new me” that could be rebuilt by Him.
He wants to do the same for you.
So today, as you read, consider these questions: What does the Lord want to knock down in my life to make room for something new to grow? What is He trying to strip away so I can run with endurance the race set before me, reach my fullest potential, and achieve His purpose for my life?
A Deeper Dive into Hebrews 12
The author of Hebrews 12 writes, “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, 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” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV).
The “weight” referred to here is not sin, for it is not only sin that hinders us from running our race well.
“Weights” can be good things performed or accumulated in excess, including money, food, and material possessions.
“Weights” can be mindsets that aren’t unholy, but they’re unhelpful. They include seeking fulfillment in performance, other people, or “feeling important” rather than seeking the face of God.
What’s a “weight” for one person may not be a “weight” for another, but we all have them. They inhibit us in our course toward Christ. Therefore, to run the race well, we must lay them aside.
For me, and for others facing chronic illness and pain, a “weight” could be an identity tied to anything other than Christ, whether that’s our productivity, physical capability, appearance, or diagnosis.
One “weight” I have struggled with on a regular basis is striving for self-sufficiency.
I want to find the answers.
I want to figure it all out.
I want to depend on doctors to “fix” me.
But God calls us to depend on Him. To seek Him for direction. To discern the path He wants us to take and then take a step of faith and trust Him.
More important than our desire to be significant is our need to be fully surrendered.
Every time I swim, before too long, a thick layer of fog forms on my goggles. A product of my body heat coming in contact with the colder surroundings, this build up of condensation blurs my vision and makes it difficult to see where I’m headed.
In life, something similar happens. Habits, unhealthy mindsets, and worldly desires begin to weigh us down. They cloud our vision and take our eyes off of Christ. If we’re not careful, they will keep us from running with patient endurance and even dim the Light of Jesus.
When this happens in the pool, I have a decision to make. I can blindly keep swimming, or I can pause and wipe my goggles clean.
Pausing is equivalent to taking inventory on our lives—to assessing what’s helping and what’s hindering our walk with God.
When we do this in the presence of Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to show us, He is faithful to reveal our hindrances and to help us remove them.
In my own life, there have been many, such as striving for worldly success, limiting beliefs about pain, and adopting a victim mentality.
As I struggled with the lies that life is not supposed to be this way, my situation was hopeless, or that I needed something from someone or something else to move forward, God spoke to me through the passage of the disabled man by the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-14).
Legend had it that the first one in the pool after an angel stirred the water, would be healed. Jesus approached a man who had been lying by the pool for 38 years and asks him: “Do you want to get well?”
The man begins to explain why this isn’t possible—with his condition. He could never be the first one in the pool, and besides, no one else would help him. Jesus says, “Get up. Pick up your mat and walk.”
The man didn’t need quicker reflexes or special water. His ability to be healed wasn’t dependent on his own abilities or the work of someone else. He needed Jesus. It was through Christ’s power that he was made well.
My guess is, as someone who lives with chronic pain and/or illness, you’ve struggled with this lie too. If you’re reading this today and are holding out for someone or something for permission to move forward, consider this it!
Your healing—whether physical, emotional, relational, spiritual, or a combination of all of the above—is a partnership. It requires you to trust God will do His part (e.g., the stirring of the water) while also taking a step of faith (i.e., picking up your mat).
One of the biggest hindrances in the life of a chronic pain warrior is taking on a victim mentality. Shedding the weighted vest that reads “VICTIM” is essential to run freely and lightly (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG).
Ask Jesus to show you what this looks like in your own life. What act is analogous to picking up your mat? Maybe it’s voicing your symptoms less, focusing more on others, refraining from looking at the future with dread, or trusting the Lord will give you the “daily bread” needed to make it through one day at a time.
Fear blurs our vision.
An inward focus blurs our vision.
Wallowing in self-pity blurs our vision.
Micro-analyzing our symptoms and self-diagnosing,
Trying to find the answers and figure it all out on our own,
Placing our hope in doctors, medications, or anything other than our Heavenly Father,
IT ALL HINDERS US FROM RUNNING THE RACE WELL.
But, here’s the good news…
When we strip off these hindrances, with the help of the Lord, the splendor of His Light reappears. Our path becomes clearer, our bodies lighter, and our minds free. Strongholds break, anxiety lessens, and anything that stands in opposition to Jesus falls by the wayside.
We notice we’ve been given a “great cloud of witnesses”—people who have gone before us and already finished the race (e.g. stories from the Bible), as well as people alongside us who are steadfast in their faith and want to encourage us. (I’d like to fall into the second category for you—someone who is rooted firmly in the Lord and who wants to love and support you).
In the race of life, the desire to “win” is a hindrance in itself because coming in first means leaving others in the dust. The Christian life is about coming ALONGSIDE and extending an outstretched hand. It’s about SLOWING DOWN to help someone else up. It’s about sacrificial love and sacrificing success for the opportunity to see the people we care about most also cross the finish line.
At the end of your life, it won’t matter if you came in first or last in the “race of faith,” but who you encouraged, invited to run with you, and helped to finish well.
The joy set before us is more than meeting Jesus face-to-face, although that certainly would be enough! It is meeting those who ran alongside us when we arrive in heaven—those who we encouraged along the way and who otherwise may not have made it.
It’s meeting the once-hurting men and women who you helped up.
And it’s meeting those people who helped you in your time of need.
Know that God sees, loves, and cares for you in whatever challenges He is walking you through. You are no longer a victim— you are VICTORIOUS IN CHRIST! Trust that the pain you’re experiencing is essential in the formation of your faith and the work God is doing to make you whole.
Say this prayer with me: “Lord, I am tired of being weighed down. Help me throw off any weights that hinder me from running the “race of faith” well (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV). Remove the “weeds” in my life until only fertile soil remains so that I may bear Godly fruit and glorify Your Name. Amen.”
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Jen Roland
Featured Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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