HEBREWS 12:1-2

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 perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

TO PONDER

In our verses for today, the writer to the Hebrews mentions two sources of encouragement for our life’s journey. The first one we may refer to as the heroes or champions of living the Christian life. As we read through the list in Chapter 11 of Hebrews, we find a list of very ordinary people who made some very serious mistakes in life (including murder for a number of them). Yet they allowed themselves to be used by God for God to achieve his saving purposes through them. Many of them struggled at first to believe God could or would want to use them. God has included their stories in the bible as an encouragement to us, not to try to be like them and emulate their successes, but to learn to trust God when he calls us to go, so that He can work through us to achieve His purposes of bringing His love, healing and support to others.

The second source of encouragement is in keeping our focus on Jesus who has adopted us to be his brothers and sisters. Jesus, during His time here on earth, experienced the full gamut of life’s experiences, so when He asks us to follow Him, He is not asking us to do anything He has not already experienced. Notice that Jesus didn’t just grin and bear it in carrying out His Father’s tasks for Him, including the suffering and death he went through. But He experienced joy in what he was achieving, rescuing us so that we could live with Him.

Jesus’s vision for us is a full life, an overflowing life (see Luke 6:38), even as we face challenges along the way because Jesus is travelling with us.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you that we are not in this business of life on our own. Thank you for carrying out your promise to always be with us on our life’s journey.  Thankyou for also continuing to remind us of all the resources you have made available to us to use on our journey. Amen

Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping