English: Jesus ascending to heaven (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 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.(NKJV
This scripture from Hebrews 12 cuts away all the cheap excuses and flimsy “isms” we use for who we are and what we do. Jesus went to the cross, so how do we think we can get away with any less?
I pulled these verses out because of a specific phrase that came to mind after I failed in a given instance. And that is, “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us.” What is the sin that seems to dog you everywhere you go and at anytime? Odds are you know what it is, and that’s because it is always there, mocking you, baiting and leading you astray. Why do you allow that to continue? I ask because I am in the same situation, and deal with my stuff the same way. I shove it under the rug, each time thinking that I can handle it myself the next time.
I find the answer to our dilemma in the words that follow, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.” We want nothing to do with the cross, the way of death to ourselves and our sinful desires. We clutch the things we absolutely hate, and we run to the stuff that sickens our souls. Jesus’ example speaks of joy. In death His eyes were on the result of this temporary suffering and the coming glory.
I pray you will not allow the enemy to continue to harass and intimidate you. But that you will live the example set by our Savior and lay it down at the foot of the cross.
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