Weekly Devotion—January 29, 2025
By Pastor Chris Simmons
Know always that God’s Grace, Mercy, and Peace are yours through Jesus Christ.
How would you define a “heavy day”?
It could be one with a lot of extra work, or you start the day extra tired…Possibly emotionally just overloaded, or environmentally/culturally things don’t feel right…what do you think?What do you do to help get through a “heavy day”?
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus.
We are called to lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely… in the NIV instead of “cling” they use the words “hinders and easily entangle”. We tend to pick up a lot of “dead weight”. It is good to work, God designed us to do so, but deadweight is the stuff that only drags you down. When you have those heavy days, and the dead weight is clinging to you and you feel overencumbered, unable to move, look to Jesus and one another. Jesus came to break the chains of the dead weight dragging you down, and He has given us a cloud of witnesses to lift us back up and redirect our eyes to Him. Look to the ones God has placed in your life to call out that “dead weight”.
Prayer
Lord God, we too often allow the dead weight of sin, anxiety, and overcommitment to slow us down on the race you’ve set before us. Please redirect our eyes to you, and by your power and as you work through the clouds of witnesses in our lives give us the strength not to carry all this weight, but to lay it aside. We pray this all in your name Jesus. Amen.