"Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin
that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is
set before us."
Hebrews 12:1 July 20, 1969. Boy do I remember that
day very well. I went into premature labor with our first child. That was a
serious and big event for us, but it wasn't for most. That was the day
millions of people watched the Apollo 11 takeoff. We witnessed three men
land on the moon for the first time in history. We witnessed Neil Armstrong
take those first steps on the moon---one of the greatest achievements in
history!
A great amount of energy is needed to break free of the earth's
gravitational pull and this space ship used more energy in the first few
minutes of liftoff, than it did the remainder of the several days, going
millions of miles to the moon.
Likewise, it's hard to get ourselves going in morning, after resting all
night. Sometimes we feel as if it just takes too much effort and energy to
get us "launched" in morning than it does to get us through an entire day.
Bitterness, bad habits, past hurts, unconfessed sin, and so on, can all be a
heavy burden and weigh us down or keep us from going forward with our Lord.
A lady once said, "The secret of daily life is this. There are no
leftovers! There is nothing
---no person, no experience, no thought, no joy or pain---that cannot be
harvested and used for nourishment on our journey to God."
We may be convinced that a bad or difficult childhood will keep us from
healthy, loving relationships, losing a job or business failure will prevent
us from ever going forward in our career. Or we may feel that a physical
limitation will keep us from true fulfillment. No so in God's kingdom!!
Most think of God's kingdom being in heaven. Not totally so. His kingdom is
right here---his people. We make up the kingdom of God.
There's not a thing that happens to us that is wasted by God. He uses
everything for His life-building purposes when we give all our experience to
Him. He can turn a negative situation into a positive, if we will only give
it to Him.
This morning, give each weight that you have been carrying, that drags you
down, to God. Leave it there and don't pick it back up in your mind or by
speaking it out your mouth. Don't take out of God's hands and put it back in
yours. Then watch them become fuel to break you out of the "gravitational
pull" of bad experiences and send you into the joy of the Lord!!
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