What does God say to us when we want to “throw in the towel” spiritually?
Mar 21, 2011
The Base for Grace - part thirty-four in a study of the book of Hebrews
By Mike Gaudet
What does God say to us when we want to “throw in the towel” spiritually?
“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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him 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 sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3
Living by faith is like running a marathon. It challenges our ability to persevere.
A marathon is a test of endurance. The tough part is resisting the temptation to stop running. The challenge is to keep going.
The Jewish Christians being addressed in this letter had been putting one foot in front of the other for a long time. Some had been walking with Christ for close to two decades. They had suffered physically, financially, emotionally, and socially. But they had persevered. Now they were getting tired . . . really tired. To make matters worse, some of their friends were abandoning the race and were returning to the temporary rest and relaxation that ancient Judaism afforded.
What does God tell us when we desperately want to “throw in the towel” spiritually?
Look around you.
Look ahead of you.
Look around you. There is a “great cloud of witnesses” that surrounds them. The writer encourages those who are tempted to drop out of the race to look around at those who have already run the race. The preceding chapter is sometimes referred to as the Bible’s “Hall of Faith” because the lives of heroes of the faith are chronicled. These who have finished their race are envisioned as being in the stands. They are cheering on those who are still running.
It’s hard to run alone. We are encouraged to look around at nodding heads and knowing gazes. Earnest expressions. Encouraging cheers. Those who look on know how difficult the race is. “I know what you are going through.” “Hang in there.” “Look at us! We’ll help you to keep going.”
When we think about those who have gone before us, it encourages us to “travel light.” It’s easier to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” when we think of life on the far side of the finish line.
Look ahead of you. We are encouraged to look at Jesus, the “author and perfecter of our faith.”
He is not sprinting ahead of us. He does not roll his eyes condescendingly as He laps us for the zillionth time.
He runs alongside us.
He runs alongside you.
He sees you. He knows that you’re tired and perhaps discouraged.
He sympathizes with you. He knows firsthand how tough the race is.
He deals gently with you. There is no condescension or disappointment on His face.
He loves you. He invites you to come to His Father to receive mercy, grace and help.
When life is difficult we naturally assume that something’s gone wrong. Either we failed in some way or someone else did. It’s hard enough to run the race without having to carry a load of guilt and doubt on our backs. It’s tougher to persevere when we imagine that the race is supposed to be easy . . . that our fatigue must be the result of human or divine error.
Jesus ran first so that we might know what the race is like. He “endured such opposition from sinful men” so that we would not “grow weary and lose heart.”
As we “fix our eyes on Jesus” we find the strength to “run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us.”