Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

When I sought direction for this week’s encouragement, the Holy Spirit prompted my wife to tell me weight loss. As I wrestled with writing about losing weight for a week, the Holy Spirit clarified the true theme is losing unwanted things.

Let’s begin with losing every weight.

Today’s scripture, Hebrews 12:1 (NLT) says…
[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, 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.

Consider…
I normally hear the focus of today’s scripture being running our race. However, the author tells us to first “strip off every weight that slows us down.”

This tells me that God wants us to remove all impediments that will interfere with our ability to do the things God has planned for us to do.

I must admit, I am curious what every weight, which includes but isn’t exclusive to sin, means. When I asked God for wisdom, He graciously directed me to three scriptures.

The first scripture is Jesus speaking in Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT). He said…
[31] “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ [32] These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. [33] Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

The Holy Spirit showed me that the weight of worry is an impediment we need to shed. Then He reiterated the point with Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) which admonishes…
[6] Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. [7] Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Notice this verse tells us that focusing on God, through prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving, gives us His peace. It’s like a marathon runner or birthing mother who focus on breathing to endure the pain they are experiencing. The pain is real, but by shifting their focus to breathing, they are able to relax their muscles and allow their body to push through. The same is true for us in worrisome situations when we focus on God. The situation is real, but by focusing on God we’re able to remain calm in the midst of the storm, and even walk on water.

So today, resolve to shed the weight of worry by focusing on God!

The second scripture the Lord gave me was Ephesians 4:21-22 (NLT), which says…
[21] Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, [22] throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.

Notice the Apostle Paul said throw off our old sinful nature and former way of life. Just a couple verses later, Paul expounds on what that old nature entails. Ephesians 4:25-29 (NLT) says…
[25] So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. [26] And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, [27] for anger gives a foothold to the devil. [28] If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. [29] Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

That’s pretty plain talk. You can’t keep doing the same things that you’ve always done and expect a different result. In fact, that’s a definition of lunacy. This also means when you accept Christ, there should be a visible change in your behavior.

So God simply says, shed your bad behaviors.

The third scripture provided by the Holy Spirit is Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT), which says…
[19] When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, [20] idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, [21] envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Changing what you want is required to change what you do. Craving unhealthy foods or portions of food make dieting more difficult, if not impossible. In the same way, craving sinful lusts make obeying and honoring God difficult, if not impossible. James 1:14-15 (NLT) explains…
[14] Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. [15] These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

God is simply telling us to shed our sinful desires.

The Holy Spirit is telling me to close by listing the three weight shedding things that we should do…

• Shed worry
• Shed bad behaviors
• Shed lustful thoughts

In closing, the Holy Spirit is emphasizing that people like to couple Hebrews 12:2 with today’s scripture, but we have to lay things down before we look up. So today, lay down the three weights identified so you can look up and run to God without distractions.

Today’s Song is…
Lay Aside Every Weight

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)