Recently I watched an episode of American Pickers. The show that has been on television for many seasons follows antique and collectible pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, who travel around the United States to buy or "pick" various items for resale, for clients, or for their personal collections. What they find can be crazy.

On a recent episode, Mike and Frank were visiting a castle, of sorts, that a couple had spent a lifetime building, filled to overflowing with stuff they had purchased from the area. I mean it was crammed with stuff, much of which I sat and scratched my head at why they had ever bought the stuff or kept it. There was not an empty square foot of space in this labyrinth of rooms. And the funny part is that the widow was reluctant to part with almost everything. A lot of the stuff was hideous and even ugly.

We accumulate stuff as well. I am not talking about physical stuff, although that accumulation shows up when we try to move. I am talking about stuff in our lives: sinful practices, neglect of our fellowship with God, lack of prayer, a focus on ourselves, and in many cases just plain laziness in our spiritual life. I notice that this last one is prevalent in the time of Covid as many are suffering from a spiritual malaise. A spiritual weariness. All of these are pieces of our lives that accumulate and hinder our walk with God. You know what they are in your life as I do in mine.

What do we do with this stuff that holds us back? The book of Hebrews says, divest yourself of it, Get rid of it. Clean it out of your life. Here is how the author puts it. “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. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3.

About the accumulated stuff in our lives... “Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Divest, let it go for the sake of the best investment we could make in running, with perseverance, the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith. Why? So that we don’t grow weary and lose heart. In reality divestments can be the best investment we ever make in the race we are running for Jesus.

No one would run a race with a backpack on, full of stuff. We cannot run our spiritual race that way either. Like Jesus, who kept the prize in front of Him even as He endured great hardship, we need to fix our eyes on the prize and divest ourselves of anything that gets in the way. Today, consider your own life and what might be holding you back or getting in your way of running the race God has set out for you. It is the best investment you will ever make.

Father, help me see today what is getting in the way of the race I am running. Keep me from growing weary and losing heart. Help me fix my eyes on Jesus every day and run with freedom. Amen.