https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/ece-devotions/20250818ECME.mp3

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.

Have you ever tried to run while carrying a heavy backpack? At first, you think maybe you can manage. But the longer you go, the more it weighs you down. Eventually, it gets hard to even put one foot in front of the other.

Sin is like that. We often carry it without realizing how much it slows us down – until God’s Word stops us in our tracks.

Hebrews 12 pictures the Christian life as a race. But it’s not a sprint. It’s a lifelong journey. And along the way, we’re called to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” That’s not always easy to do because if we face the facts, we kind of like our sin. Our sinful nature would love to cling onto the gossip, the mindless worrying, the “me first” attitude, the greed, whatever it might be. But God’s Word is not just for comfort; it’s for showing us our sin too. It divides truth from lies, pride from humility, & sin from grace.

That’s the wound. It cuts deep. It shows us where we’ve fallen short. It shows us when we’ve served out of obligation instead of love, when we’ve relied on our own strength instead of Christ, when we’ve let fear or comparison cloud our joy.

Give thanks today that God’s Word doesn’t just leave us wounded. It heals. It points us back to Jesus, the one who started the race and the one who finished it. He ran the perfect race, carrying not his own sin, but ours. He was crushed under the weight of our guilt, so that we never have to carry it again. Jesus didn’t come to burden us. He came to set us free. And now because of him, we can run with perseverance, not perfectly, not always gracefully – but always with our eyes fixed on him.

In your ministry, in your struggles, in your daily race – look to Jesus. Let his Word do its work. Let it cut away what holds you back and bind you up in his perfect love.

Jesus, thank You for running the race in my place. Forgive me when I cling to my sin or carry sins and burdens that you already bore. Use your Word to correct and comfort me. Help me run freely and faithfully, always looking to you. Amen.

How can you let God’s Word both challenge and comfort you this week as you serve in ministry?