Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1
Today I thought about a time when I was in College in Rochester NY during the winter. If you didn’t drive in the snow, you didn’t go anywhere from October to May. One night my friend Chris and I decided to go to the nearby Mall. As we were driving we could hear a thumping sound and it kept getting louder the longer we drove. When we finally got to the Mall and got out of the car, I heard Chris say, “Holy Cow!” I said “what’s wrong?” Her reply, “You got to see this.” Once I got around the car, all I could do was laugh. When she closed the door, the belt of her coat hung out, and as we drove it was collecting slushy snow. Till we got to the mall, a huge ice ball had formed. It was so solid we had to step on it and hit it against the tire!
Last night at Bible Study we were talking about all the stuff that “sticks” to us during our lifetime and influences our thoughts, relationships and behaviors. Just like the slush Chris’ coat picked up until it all piled together was difficult to break off. Imagine how painful it would have been for Chris to walk around the mall with that ice ball banging against her leg. Yet how often do we just keep going through life collecting offenses, emotional hurts and pains and traumas and with each instance the weight gets heavier and less and less able to not have them limit us.
Todays verse reminds us that we need to strip off whatever slows us down or trips us up. And the quicker we take care of an issue the easier it is to remove and cause the least amount of discomfort. Yet for most of us, that isn’t the case. We have built up layer upon layer of painful memories that need the cleansing and healing of Jesus remove them. The only way to truly heal is to speak the Word over ourselves reminding us how much God loves us; and how much greater all that Jesus accomplished for us on the cross is greater than all those things that are trying to destroy us. His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness and love are powerful enough to break up anything and off of us that we may have accumulated over the years. I encourage you to consider what you might be carrying with you that is weighing you down and hindering you and then let the powerful love of Jesus set you free.
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