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, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
—Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV
We have a race to run. Sin in our lives will hinder our race and must end entirely. However, sin is not the only thing that hinders us. There are other things, less evident than sin, that can also hinder our race. Just as a runner must shed “weights” to achieve the best results, we must eliminate anything that deters and limits us from attaining maximum results. These deterrents may vary from person to person, but anything that occupies our time certainly weighs us down in our spiritual race (Mark 4:19).
We must run our race with patience and endurance. “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:4). This race isn’t a dash but a long, drawn-out, demanding, and grueling race. We must allow patience to work in us. To endure, we must patiently pace ourselves.
A runner has to have a goal or a prize to press toward. Jesus should be our example and should occupy our focus. He is the author and finisher of our faith. Our faith will never be complete if we don’t focus on Jesus. How did Jesus run His race? Hebrews 12:2 reveals that He focused on “the joy that was set before him.”
Jesus endured pain and suffering like no one else ever has. He not only faced this in the physical realm as He bore the sickness and disease of the entire world but also suffered spiritually, literally becoming sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Yet, He didn’t dwell on the suffering; instead, He focused on the prize of victory. That’s why He could endure such hardship with sinners against Him.
To endure hardship, we must follow Jesus’s example and keep our focus on the good rather than the bad. We must “see” the spiritual rather than what we “lack” in the natural. During His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus concentrated on the “joy” of the spiritual instead of His “lack.” He poured out His agony to His Father and asked to fulfill His will in another way. Yet, Jesus put the suffering that was coming behind Him and centered His attention on the joy that His sacrifice would bring to you and me. Ultimately, it was our “joy” that He aimed to achieve.
The word “despising” in this verse was translated from the Greek word “kataphroneo,” and it means “to think against, disesteem” (Strong’s Concordance). “Esteem” means “to value or prize.” So, Jesus “disesteemed” or “devalued” the suffering He experienced and valued us more. What an incredible truth! You can only comprehend this kind of love in your heart.
Many people don’t realize they have the power to “esteem or disesteem” what happens to them. They proclaim that they are complete products of their environment and have no power to control their reactions. But this verse does not teach that. We can value the good and devalue the bad. We can choose to “see” our resources in the spiritual or “see” what we lack in this earthly life.
Whatever we focus on becomes larger and more significant in our lives while our hearts become increasingly sensitive to it. Conversely, what we fail to concentrate on begins to lose significance and influence, causing our hearts to harden in response. The importance and influence of any sin or weight becomes less the more we don’t focus on it. As a result, we determine the value or lack of value of things that occur in our lives. This explains why individuals experiencing the same situations may react differently. Some may fixate on the problem, while others can assign a different value to their experience and move on.
How are you running your race? Are you running like Jesus or concentrating on the negative rather than the positive? What value do you perceive in your life? Do you focus on your issues and what you lack, or do you recognize God’s infinite value and the good He brings?
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