Begin with 2 minutes of stillness and silence before God.

Many of my favorite events whenever the Olympics take place are in the long-distance running category. There’s something so fascinating about seeing the peak performance of the greatest athletes in the world, as they take off towards the finish line, running lap after lap despite any pain, challenges, or doubt with the goal of reaching victory at the end! There’s a race similar to this described in today’s chapter of God’s Word, but it’s a race that holds far greater significance than the Olympics, with a prize far more valuable than a gold medal.

Take a moment and read Hebrews 12:1-2.

Wow! Don’t those verse get your adrenaline pumping!? The believers receiving Hebrews were no stranger to athletic games and would have quickly understood the imagery of a stadium full of people cheering on contestants as they pursue the finish line. This beginning of the penultimate chapter of Hebrews served as an encouraging and motivating message for the persecuted believers in the audience, and it is equally as relevant and powerful for us today as we run the spiritual race that Christ has set before us during our time here on earth.

So, how do we run the race well?

First, verse 1 tell us to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely.” Just like running a marathon with a 50-pound backpack, holding on to the weight of sin makes the already difficult task of our spiritual race far harder, if not impossible. The weigh of sin burdens us, creates painful consequences, and ultimately hinders us in our pursuit of the Lord. We have to be proactive in casting aside our sin in order to run to Him.

The next thing we have to do is “run with endurance.” Spiritual endurance, just like physical endurance, is not completed overnight. Running with endurance is a lifelong marathon, not a quick sprint to the finish line. Even when the journey feels tedious or we experience suffering, we know that God has marked our race out for us, and we can trust in Him as we move forward because He will not leave or forsake us. Because Jesus endured the cross, we are able to enter into an eternal relationship with Him that gives us the endurance we need to run our race here on earth.

The final encouragement found in verse 2 reminds us to keep “looking towards Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” The original Greek word used for this phrase really means to turn your eyes away from one thing and fix them on something else. Looking towards Christ means finding time to connect with Him consistently by reading His Word, praying, and connecting in community with other believers. We have to intentionally turn from the distractions that surround us and look towards Jesus, making him the focus of all of our thoughts and actions. When we shift our view from the earthly to the eternal, we can endure anything for the sake of Christ!

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Do you feel the weight of sin in any area of your life right now? What is it that you need to lay down in order to run the race ahead of you?
• Is there a situation you are facing right now where you need endurance? Take time to pray specifically about it right now and ask God to help you endure it well.
• What are some things that are captivating your attention right now? What are some practical steps you can take in order to look towards Jesus instead?

Family Devo: Hebrews 12

By: Lauren Strickland

When partnering with your family to know, love, and follow Jesus, we strive to create and share content filtered by the Head-Heart-Hands model.   

Head: the knowledge of God and His Word | Heart: the personal connection from scripture | Hands: a missional mindset  

Head (Hebrews 12:1-2) 

We ended last week’s devotions with the chapter on Heroes of our Faith —ordinary people who faced hard things in life and still trusted God with their lives! Men and women like Noah, Sarah, Abraham, Moses, Rehab, and Gideon are remembered as heroes because they trusted God with their everyday lives (NOT because they were the strongest or bravest or best)! They believed God was with them (no matter what!) and that with God, they could do hard (even seemingly impossible) things.

In Chapter 12, the writer says that trusting God and following Him is like running a race, and he gives us four important reminders for running the race like a Hero of the Faith:

We never, ever run alone! We have the example of runners who have already finished the race —everyday people who trusted and followed God their whole lives! This makes me think of those Heroes in Chapter 11…and my Granddad! He followed God for 88 years before he went to be with Jesus in Heaven last year! We also have the example of those who run alongside us or just ahead of us today! I think of my friends, and my parents, and I think of my Grandmom! They show me how to follow God each day and cheer for me as I strive to know, love, and follow Him along the way.  

To run well, we gotta’ get rid of everything that slows us down or trips us up. Running a race with heavy rocks in our arms or with our shoelaces tied together would be pretty hard —maybe even impossible. In the same way, we gotta’ deal with anything that keeps us from knowing God better, loving Him with our whole selves, and following Him each day. This looks like many things—choosing to do the wise thing even when its the harder thing, saying the kind thing when we want to say what’s mean, or planning for time with God first rather than giving Him what little time we have left each day.  

We don’t have to be the fastest or strongest or best to win this race! We must only run with endurance. Endurance means to keep on running even when life feels heavy and hard or even when we get tripped up by sin! Just keep taking the next step on your race to know God, love Him, and follow Him each day, no matter what.  

Every step of the race, it’s best to keep our eyes on Jesus! When we focus on other runners —how much faster or slower they are compared to us, we might feel discouraged or even get a little prideful sometimes! And, if we look to our own strength when we stumble or fall, we might feel defeated and give up! But when we look to Jesus and remember He loves us, forgives us and He is always with us, nothing can stop us!  

Heart

Think about these questions with someone in your life. Share your thoughts with one another.  

• What heroes in God’s Word encourage you to trust God?
• What kinds of things might weigh us down or trip us up as we try to follow Jesus?  
• What does it look like to keep our eyes on Jesus each day (at home and school)? 

Hands

Take a few minutes to write a note or draw a picture for someone in your life who always encourages you (a friend or family member, your KXP or MVMNT leader, a teacher, or coach). Thank them for cheering you on! You might also write a note to someone you are cheering on! Remind them that you care about them and that God is with them! 

Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for all of the examples of ordinary people in your Word who followed hard after you. Thank you for all the people in my life today who help me follow after you! Help me look for others to cheer on and encourage, and help me always keep my eyes on you!