What’s Slowing You Down?
By Rick Warren
"We must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete." Hebrews 12:1-2 (CEV)
When you go on a diet, what’s the first thing you do? Many people go straight to the refrigerator and pantry, take out all the junk food, and get it out of the house. They want to eliminate the junk so that they are set up for success in their diet.
When you realize you need a life reset, eliminating anything unhelpful or unhealthy is an important step.
Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "We must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete" (CEV).
We often worry about junk food and what it does to us. But what about mental junk food?
If you want to change your life, maybe you need to unplug your TV for a few months or cancel your streaming service subscription. To really change your mind, you have to stop the junk that's coming in over the Internet. You may need to take a break from the pressures and comparisons and useless information on social media.
Maybe you need to let go of a relationship that's pulling you down—a friend that's not really being a friend or a boyfriend or girlfriend that is leading you away from Jesus. They're leading you in the wrong direction. If you’re trying to lift someone up and they’re trying to pull you down, who's going to win? It’s almost always easier to get pulled down.
You may need to confess your sin. Are you doing that regularly? If not, then unconfessed sin is building up in your life. That’s going to affect your relationship with God, which means it affects every area of your life. To have a successful reset, you need to get rid of anything that has come between you and God. In other words, you need to get rid of your unconfessed sin.
Things in your life that are unhealthy and unhelpful may look like a bad attitude, certain books or movies or music, distractions, hobbies, or habits.
What do you need to get rid of or let go of to help you reset and focus on Jesus as you run your race in life?
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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