Recently, Steve and I had the opportunity to go to our granddaughter’s track meet. It was an incredible joy to watch Selah run the mile race! She beat her own personal best time and did well in the race, but what impressed me most was how she cheered others on! She even cheered for the kids from other schools. Selah would cheer, “Keep going, you’ve got this!” I may be biased, but she is pretty remarkable.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we have cheerleaders cheering for us in our faith race, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and the perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Certainly, we have cheerleaders in heaven who have gone on before us, and Jesus Christ, Himself, cheers for us in our race. But, we also need cheerleaders here on Earth. These are the people who surround us, encourage us, live life with us, and cheer for us spiritually. Those folks are essential to our faith journey.
However, you also need to be cheering others on. If we’re going to be resilient in our faith, we need each other in the body of Christ! We need friends and mentors who are cheering for us, and we need to be cheering for others. You see, the cheering is as important as the running!
We Need Each Other in The Race
Our friends and mentors help us stay focused. The writer of Hebrews said that we are to fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). When we have friends and mentors cheering us on, we are more determined to stay focused on Jesus as our finish line. Our friends and mentors hold us accountable and encourage us to finish well.
With friends and mentors cheering us on in the race, discouragement doesn’t defeat us. Let’s face it, discouragement is one of the primary weapons our enemy enjoys using against us. When we become discouraged, it’s easy to zone out with social media, become apathetic in our walk with Jesus, or simply drop out of community. However, with close friends and mentors cheering us on, we are more encouraged to stay in community with others. We’re less likely to simply quit when we think our faith isn’t working.
Friends and mentors help us keep our pace sustainable. What do I mean? The Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. God has ordained certain rhythms to help us run with perseverance. Our friends can help us run the race at a sustainable pace. They can speak into our lives when they see us pushing too hard or too fast. They can remind us to keep the Sabbath and to trust God with our work. They also can encourage us to honor our limits. We, especially in the West, seem to ignore our limits and then burn out. Our friends are crucial in reminding us to keep our pace sustainable.
The question I want to leave you with is this: who is cheering you on in your faith journey? And who are you cheering on in theirs? Ask God to show you who your faithful friends are who will walk with you and cheer you on toward a closer walk with Christ. Then ask Him who needs you in their faith journey.
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