It's Time for You To Lay Aside
Every Unnecessary Weight
Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight....
- Hebrews 12:1
What is it that keeps
hindering you from living a life of obedience? Do you
struggle with a particular sin, habit, attitude, or
fear that keeps you from running your race of faith
the way you ought? If so, you probably already know
what it is, and I'd guess that you've already prayed,
prayed, and prayed for victory in overcoming
that problem because you really do want to please God.
Every now and then, we all tolerate things in our
lives that make it difficult for us to please God. And
when we know we're not pleasing God, we typically
aren't happy with ourselves either. This is one reason
that Hebrews 12:1 tells us to "lay aside every
weight."
The words "lay aside" are taken from the Greek word apotithimi,
a compound of the words apo and tithimi.
The word apo means away and the word tithimi
means to place or to lay something down. When
these two words are compounded together, it gives a
picture of someone who is laying something down while
at the same time he is pushing it far away
from himself. It means to lay something down and
to push it far away and beyond reach. Thus, this
word implies a deliberate decision to make a
permanent change of attitude and behavior.
Removing wrong attitudes and actions from our lives
will not occur accidentally. We must decide to
change - to remove, to lay aside, and to put away
attitudes and actions that don't please God and
adversely affect our walk of faith.
Hebrews 12:1 refers to these incorrect attitudes and
actions as "weights." The word "weight" is from the
Greek word ogkos - a word that describes a
burden or something so heavy and cumbersome that it
impedes a runner from running his race as he should.
This word was particularly used in the athletic world
to signify the actions of an athlete who would
deliberately strip himself of excess weight before
participating in a competition. This stripping process
included the loss of excess flesh through dieting and
exercise. Then on the day of the actual competition,
he stripped off nearly all his clothes so no extra
weight would slow him down. He had his eye on the
prize, so he was determined to strip off all "weight"
that might potentially keep him from being the best
athlete he could be.
This sends a strong message to us! If we want to
please God, satisfy ourselves, and do something
significant with our lives, we have to choose to
remove anything from our lives that would hinder those
objectives.
The athlete of the ancient world didn't become
"unweighted" by accident. He dropped all excess weight
on purpose. He dieted; he exercised; and he shed every
other unnecessary weight he could find to shed. This
stripping process demanded his attention, his
decision, and his devotion. It wasn't going to happen
by accident, so he had to initiate the process of
removal.
What if those athletes had tried to run their race
with loads of extra weight? They certainly wouldn't
have been able to run very far! This is exactly what
sinful habits and attitudes do to your walk with the
Lord. If you don't remove them, they will eventually weigh
you down and knock you out of your race of faith!
The Holy Spirit is urging you and me to take a good
look at our lives and then remove everything that
weighs us down and keeps us from a life of obedience.
We must be honest with ourselves and with God.
Do you have a habit or a wrong attitude that binds
you? Are you plagued by a fear that weighs you down
and keeps you from fulfilling your potential in
Christ? Make a rock-solid, quality decision today to
grab hold of those unnecessary burdens and remove,
lay aside, and permanently put them away from
your life.
Once you make that decision, you'll find yourself
running your race of faith with much more ease as
you press on to victory |