{my graphics are free goodies for you}
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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. {Heb. 12:1-3}
It has been a difficult week, a difficult few months. There have been stones cast and voices raised and Facebook posts like armored tanks. Hit and run proclamations. And we are all the ones left standing, stunned, in the road.
It’s in times like these that retreat seems safest and sanest. Let’s go home and shut the doors, bar the windows and disconnect the doorbell. Gather round with our stockpiled faith and ration out just enough to survive.
Most of all it seems tempting to safeguard our hearts. Just take them right out and stick them in the solid metal safe at the back of the closet. Then forget the combination. Forget what once beat in our chest.
And, so, this phrase stands out to me as both challenge and invitation: “Let us not grow weary and lose heart.” These words bring tears to my eyes, a lump to my throat. Because I am tired just now. Not so much in my body but in a deeper, invisible place. The one that sees the best in people, that reaches out in love, that keeps believing folks can change. This sort of hope and confidence has taken a beating lately. And as I lay in bed the other night I talked to God about it. Into the darkness it seemed He whispered something like, “I get it.”
And I realized, suddenly, He does. More than I can know, more than any of us comprehend. He knows what it is to love and love. To extend yourself so far that you are, oh, stretched out on a cross. And then to be rejected or dismissed or misunderstood.
We think a lot about the physical suffering Jesus endured for and from us—but what of His heart?
Fix our eyes on Jesus says the start of this passage and that is what changed everything. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men. These are words of focus and intention, remembering and remaining. Perhaps we are so disillusioned these days because we have been looking at each other. And we, mere humans, always fall short. We disappoint. We gasp and tumble, slip and eventually breathe our last. But not Jesus.
Let us run with perseverance. He is the reason we can stay in the race. Take the next step. Keep going. Keep believing. Most of all, keep loving. The safest place for our hearts is not locked away. The safest place for our hearts is entrusting them to the One who for the joy set before Him endured the cross. The One who does not grow weary.
The One who, in the middle of all the noise and chaos and even danger, will never allow our hearts to be lost.
XOXO
Holley Gerth
p.s. If you like this post, you’ll love this devotional book – What Your Heart Needs for the Hard Days: 52 Truths You Can Hold Onto No Matter What. Here’s a free excerpt.
****
Welcome to the Coffee for Your Heart weekly link-up! You’re an encourager so I’m asking you to pour out a little love with your words every Wednesday {link-up goes live at 5:30am CST}. Simply write an encouraging blog post and then share it here. Don’t have a blog? You can still write an encouraging comment. If you’re reading this by email, go to holleygerth.com to see all the fun and join in too.
Pretty please use this button in your blog post so others can easily join in with us {html code in right sidebar}. And when you link up your post, take a moment to leave an encouraging comment on the one that’s linked up just before yours. Thanks, friends!
I’m having Coffee For Your Heart with my friend Holley Gerth
{click to tweet that you’re joining me here today}
[inlinkz_linkup id=700139 mode=1]
