By Naomi Mitchell
Carter County Times
To persevere is to hold firmly and steadily to our faith in God and to His Word despite obstacles or setbacks. It’s not giving up! It is very important to run with patience and not give up no matter what. Hebrews 12:1, Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
PREPATORY – Before we can run this race there are some things we must do. Lay aside every weight, and sin that doth so easily beset us: every weight that is, all inordinate affection and concern for the body, and the present life and world. The word tells us that we are to lay aside anything outside of or instead of God that you are willing to suffer for. Inordinate care (care that is excessive and unnatural without limitations) for the present life or fondness for it, is a dead weight upon the soul. It pulls it down when it should be pulling you up. It pulls it back when it should be pressing you forward.
Every sin that so easily besets us. Here it can mean impatience as the besetting sin of one person and covetousness as the besetting sin of another, pride, etc. Any sin that has the greatest advantage against us, by the circumstances we are in or our state of mind. A besetting sin can mean one that is persistent, constantly in evidence or deeply rooted. Your besetting sin is the one you wrestle with most often, the one that gives you the most trouble. It’s the one that keeps haunting you, threating to control you, to hold you in bondage that you always fall victim to. Lay aside the things that hinder us both internal and external.
PERFECTIVE – Run with Patience the race that is set before us. Christians have a race to run, a race of service unto the Lord, a race of sufferings, a race of obedience.
The 2024 Olympics just closed a few weeks ago. The contestants didn’t start practicing a week before the Olympics. It had been a lifestyle and lifetime of discipline. They laid aside weights. They practiced for years, long and hard, through all kinds of sufferings and setbacks. They persevered no matter what. I’m sure there were times when they felt like giving up and felt there was no progress and that they had gone to the limit of their endurance many times. They didn’t dive into that pool of water the distance of a three-story building with cowboy boots and a backpack on with their iPhone in their hand. No weights or distractions – only focus and concentration at the race set before them with patience! They didn’t hurry or rush through. They ran the race with patience and in the end it paid off.
PATIENCE is one of the fruits of the Spirit. This race as a Christian must be run with patience (stay calm and keep going) and perseverance (not giving up). Resist all temptation and detest the thought of even turning aside. It is not those who start off fast and furious like the little rabbit, but slow and patient like the little turtle. Keep running your race with patience every day, one day at a time. Jesus has given you power to tread on serpents and scorpions. Step over anything that would fall into your path or tempt you to get out of the race. God has marked out the way – both by the Word of God and the examples of the faithful servants of God, that great cloud of witnesses.
God has set out proper limits and directions in His Word, the mark we are to run to and the prize we run for. Hebrews chapter 11, gives us a few names in the Hall of Faith as examples to follow. But there is no greater example than Jesus Christ our Lord. Hebrews 12:2 – looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. He is the beginning, perfecter, and rewarder of our faith, the great leader of our faith, the author of our faith. You can do this! Jesus paved the way! AMEN. SO BE IT.
JOYFUL House of Prayer, 2519 Quicksand Road, (P.O. Box 856), Jackson, Kentucky 41339. Send Comments/Prayer Requests: Pastornaomi4god@gmail.com. FB: JoyfulHoprayer. Services: 10am Sunday and 6:30pm Thursdays. Radio Broadcast: WJSN 97.3 FM & WEKG 81.0 AM Sundays 1-2pm.
