5×5×5 Bible Plan
Read: Hebrews 12
Meditation: Hebrews 12:1-2
“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.”
Shift Your Focus… Hebrews was written to first-century believers of Jewish background. They got off to a great start in their Christian faith, but because of unexpected suffering, they were thinking about walking away and returning to their Jewish roots. That’s why the writer pleads with them to run their faith-race with endurance. And he gives them—and us—some great advice on how to run strong and finish well.
One of the most overlooked principles on effectively running the faith-race is simply this: You will need to find strength from those who’ve gone before. That’s what he is referring to when he says in verse one, “Therefore since we are surrounded by this huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith…”
The Bible isn’t just a history book; it is not just about people who lived and died a long time ago. Hebrews 4:12 says that Scripture is “living and active.” It is an operator’s manual of living faith to help you today. Romans 15:4 says, “Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us.”
And in a very real sense, anyone who has run a victorious race of faith—from the ancient past right up to the present moment—is on the sidelines cheering you on. Hebrews 11 contains a long list of both familiar and not-so-familiar people who, themselves, faced a tough race. They were ridiculed, mistreated. Some left their families and homes to serve God. Some paid the ultimate price of hardship and sacrifice, even giving their lives to follow God. But no matter what, they endured; all of them were still running their faith-race when they died. And God thought so highly of them that he declared in 11:38, “The world was not worthy of them.”
When you are tempted to slow down, when you have lost sight of the finish line, when you are weary and feel like giving up, your personal cheering section of witnesses is literally in the great grandstand of that unseen dimension shouting,
“Don’t give up. We endured; we paid a heavy price, too. But it was worth it.”
There’s Abraham and Moses, David and Jonathon. There are New Testament martyrs like Stephen and John the Baptist and James. There are Peter and Paul and John the beloved. There are even loved ones of yours who have gone on before you—and they are at the finish line shouting, “Keep going, you’re almost there, it’ll be worth it!” And best of all, there is Jesus.
To sustain your spiritual passion for an entire lifetime, you must open your eyes to that unseen dimension and listen to those who’ve run the race before you, and above all, fix your eyes on Jesus,
“He both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” (Hebrews 12;2-3, The Message)
The finish is in sight! If you tune in your spiritual ears, you can hear the roar of the crowd. It is going to be an unbelievable ending to quite an endurance race. So run strong and finish well!
“Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods.” ~C.S. Lewis
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