LIFTING WEIGHTS

"...lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1).

Those who please God live a life of faith (Heb. 11:1, 6).  But faith isn't the easy way to live; Jesus called it the "straightened" or difficult way (Matt. 7:14).  The Hebrew writer teaches that one must be willing to lay aside every weight (burden or hindrance) and repent of every sin that would hinder our spiritual quest.

All of us have to deal with our own weaknesses; we all are tempted to sin (James 1:14-15).  Temptation must not be faced with a defeatist attitude, i.e., "I'm only human" or "I can't help it" (Jas. 1:12; 2 Pet. 2:9).  But
neither can we arrogantly stare down the devil and throw all caution to the wind, thinking I can't fall (1 Cor. 10:11-12).  And, if we do yield to temptation and sin, we can't blame God - only ourselves (James 1:13).

The point is, we all have "weights" that have to be moved if we're to live by faith.  Scripture shows us, in the examples of the faithful, what some of these common hindrances can be.

NOAH AND THE MAJORITY VIEW.  When God told Noah to build an ark because of His impending judgment by a flood, he faithfully responded in complete obedience (Gen. 6; Heb. 11:7).  He was a "preacher of righteousness" (2 Pet. 2:5), yet in all his efforts, by example and teaching, he could only save his family.  It isn't difficult to see this unbelieving world making Noah a laughingstock.

Standing for truth against majority opinion takes courage which comes from faith in God.  By such we are "strong in the Lord" (Eph. 6:10ff.).  Remember Noah.

ABRAHAM AND HUMAN REASONING.  We observe how Abraham was able to believe God even when it seemed against all possibility (Rom. 4:17-22).  God said he and Sarah would have a child.  From a purely human perspective, considering their age and Sarah's infertility, the prospect of their having a child would be doubtful.  But Abraham "in hope believed against hope", a faith grounded in God who "...giveth life to the dead and calleth the things that are not as though they were" (vs. 17-18).  Nothing was impossible for Abraham's God.

Such faith is needed now.  In a time when such a high premium is placed on explaining away the divine by human "logic", we need a faith that says, "God said it; I believe it!"  Remember Abraham.

MOSES AND WORLDLY PLEASURES.  "By faith, Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter; choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season" (Heb. 11:24-25).  Moses was confronted with choosing between the wealth, power and ease of Egypt or the poverty, service and suffering associated with the people of God.  It was "by faith" that he could make the right choice.

The "cares and riches and pleasures of this life" (Luke 8:13), become the means by which many are choked to a spiritual death.  We must be free from a love of money and the things/ pleasures it can buy (Heb. 13:5; 1 Tim. 6:6ff.).  This is a "weight" that must be laid aside.  Remember Moses.

JOB AND SUFFERING.  The story of Job is of great importance in that it shows us that good can come from suffering.  Chapters one and two of Job relate how greatly blessed this man was with riches, family and health, only to have them all taken away.  He found no comfort in his wife nor his friends, but his faith in God saw him through his ordeal and God blessed him more richly than before (Job 42:5-6, 10ff.).

Many experience similiar trials in life.  Some take the advice of Job's wife (Job 2:9).  However, from the life of this faithful man, we learn that suffering can contribute to our spiritual good:  "Count it all joy my brethren, when ye fall into manifold temptations (trials, DR) knowing that the proving of your faith worketh patience.  And let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4).  Whatever our situation in life, we can faithfully serve God.  Remember Job.

Each of the above lives demonstrate how various "weights" or obstacles to our service of God can be successfully dealt with by faith.  May we learn from each.

                                                                            - Dan Richardson