BETWEEN THE LINES a frontline devotional

Lay Aside Every Weight

Day 02

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

– Hebrews 12:1

Additional reading: Hebrews 12:1-3Isaiah 40:28-31

When you get ready to take a flight somewhere, one of the first things you do as you begin your journey is bring your bag or luggage to the counter to make sure that it does not exceed the weight requirement for what a passenger can bring on the trip. If someone’s bag weighs too much, they are offered one of two options. They can go through the contents of their bag and keep what is the most beneficial for their journey, leaving behind any unnecessary bulk, or they can keep the extra weight and pay a hefty price.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us.”  We all know that we should lay aside sin, but this verse also says to lay aside “the weight.”  The word “weight” in this verse only appears one time in the New Testament.  Here’s what it means: “whatever is prominent, bulk, mass, a burden, an encumbrance.”

When we feel our walk with the Lord is getting heavy or sluggish, or as though we’re not moving forward, it might be time for a “baggage check.”  We should take the time to carefully evaluate what is prominent in our lives or what is taking up the bulk of our attention.  If we can look at our lives and identify something that is not in God’s will for us, it may be a burden or encumbrance to our spiritual walk.  We should quickly obey and lay aside anything that God is showing us needs to be removed.  Even if it doesn’t seem as though it’s a “bad” thing, if God is asking us to lay it aside, it’s because He wants us to make room for something better.

It may not be easy, but God will always help us. When you really think about it, who wants to carry around or pay the price for things that will just hold us back and weigh us down?

…if God is asking us to lay it aside, it’s because He wants us to make room for something better.

Lay it aside! When we do, it will make room for the great things God has for us! Then we can “run with endurance the race that is set before us” and our lives will soar!

Confession for today: “Lord, show me the things in my life that are a weighing me down.  Help me to let go of anything that is not in Your will for my life. I trust that You only want what is best for me and that anything You tell me to lay aside will be for my benefit. I only want to take on those things that are in Your will and that fulfill Your purpose for my life. Help me to do this in Jesus’ Name.”

Be salt and light,

Miss Dawn

Harvest Church