Living Understanding Pt 32: Hinderances

Hebrews 12:1-3                     1Therefore, 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, 2fixing 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.  3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 10:35-36                 35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

James 1:2-4                            2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

In the chapter preceding these verses the writer of Hebrews lists nearly two dozen heroes of the faith who faced persecution for what they believed.  The Greek word for witness is martyr, which is completely appropriate, as many of them lost their lives because of the persecution.  We might think of them as spectators of our struggle with sin, but this would be completely inappropriate.  ‘Spectator’ carries the connotation of distant entertainment, and these people were anything but distant from the consequences of their faith.

That which hinders

The imagery in these verses is of the believer running a race.  In mind is the full focus of a runner intent and focused on the goal in front of him.  Whether it be a marathon or sprint is unimportant as it is the act of competing which is before us.  And what is meant by ‘everything that hinders’—is it some nagging problem of the sort that everyone has?  Whether it be a combatant in the original Olympics, or the modern ones, or even the casual weekend runner, great intentionality is placed on doing it right—nothing is allowed to interfere with the task at hand.  Proper clothing, shoes, and equipment are acquired and nothing which doesn’t further that goal is used or acceptable.

The same focus is required in the believer’s race.  Though it be metaphoric, we believers are no less involved in a race than are our Olympic counterparts.  There is a day sometime in the future when we will stand before our Savior.  Will we hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”, or will it be “Depart from me, I never knew you.”  Our sin nature is a major impediment to the successful outcome of our race.  But since that impediment is generalized what can we do about it?  The verse doesn’t mention a specific sin.  All of us have trouble with sin, but not with the same particular sin.

So ‘throwing off’ is less about removal and more about ‘adding on’.  That is, we must draw nearer to Yeshua than ever we have been before.  Reading the Word and talking to the Living Word changes us from the inside.  Our outlook and our thinking patterns become aligned with Him, and the things which used to draw us away become less and less alluring.

Run with perseverance

The ‘adding on’ is something we can do to positively affect our race.  The word for race in this passage is agona from which we derive the word agony.  Paul uses it many times and it always refers to the idea of pressing through difficulty or conflict.  As I write these words I am in my eighth decade, and never have I been more certain of the fruitlessness of focusing on all the things I do badly.  Our sin nature is encompassing.  It weighs in from all sides, and if we focus on that it is easy to imagine that we will want to just give up.  That is exactly what Satan wants us to do.  He doesn’t want us to draw close to God, or to be healed by His presence, or to help grow the Kingdom because of our joy in Him.

This is what the ‘throwing off’ refers to.  We can’t throw off generalized sin, but we can throw off that negative attitude about giving up.  We can throw off our sense of self-sufficiency and develop trust in Jesus.  We can throw off busy-ness and spend time in prayer and intimacy with Christ. 

And one more point:  The race we are engaged in is not completely up to us.  Some people have noted that things seem to get more difficult when a person turns to Jesus.  All of us have struggles, but what differentiates us believers from the world is how we deal with those struggles.  Of the seven churches in Revelation (Chapters 3-4), all but one (Smyrna) received blessings for overcoming their difficulties.  Scripture offers many, many passages that offer solace during times of trouble.  We should cling to them and the Living Word when times seem especially hard.

Consider Him

When we go through struggles and trials, we occasionally think that no one really understands what we are going through.  In one sense that’s correct because one’s problems often don’t seem like problems to others; what seems minor to others is a major difficulty to us.  In the Greek the word consider has the connotation of careful assessment.  The idea is that if we think of the ridicule, the rejection, the whipping and torture and death that Jesus endured, then we just might understand that in the scope of things our struggles are not all that severe.  The idea is to guard against that long-term persistent wearying we experience when we have continuing struggles.

What about me?

It is true we never really understand the struggle another is going through, but it is also true that Jesus has endured more.  He was 100% man after all, so he knows the pain and temptations we experience.  It is also true that if we never experience trouble, that if life is easy and comfortable, then we don’t learn, don’t grow, and don’t change.  The key to overcoming trouble is to go to Jesus.  He knows everything about you anyway; he just wants to talk with you about it.

Nonetheless, we must make the effort to draw near to God.  The failure in doing that hinders our race.  Much of life seems a mystery; why things happen the way they do and that sort of thing.  But it isn’t a mystery that living life without God involved just doesn’t work.  Draw in to God my friend, and do it again when you fall.  Keep on keeping on, as they say.