After salvation, God sets us on a race of life. So, when we get saved He say’s, “this is the direction I want you to live your life”. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:10). This should be your goal, to walk in the good works that God has set for you. Be in the race set for you.
“1 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, 2 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.” (Heb. 12:1-2).
In this race of life, we have encouragers. Being in the race set for us is fulfilling the purpose for which God created us. The Bible is saying there are encouragers in this race, some pioneers have come and with their good works following them. There is a purpose for which God created every one of us and until a person accomplishes that, or is in the process of doing so, he or she will never be living an abundant life. He or she will never be living a life worth living. He or she will never be living a fulfilled life.
You may have all the money you want, or all the relationships you want, but you wouldn’t be living the purposeful life that God gave you as a believer if you are not in the race of life set before you. That is, if you are not living in the will of God, or seeking to obey Him, you will never find fulfilment. If you don’t walk in the good works that God prepared before the foundation of this earth, you will never be satisfied in life. You will never be able to fill that void with anything in life than walking in the will of God. We need to walk in the good works that God prepared for us and not to walk away from them. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).
Now the race of life becomes more personal when we read Hebrews 12:2. “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”. It’s not a matter of speed but a matter of being able to last. It’s about being able to run the whole length. In our Christian lives, we also have those things that impede and hinder our walk. Anything that hinders our keeping the pace of God is a distraction. It must be laid aside and you need to turn away from it.
We are to lay aside those things that hinder and distract us in our Christian walk. As we are living in the will of God, anything that hinders, or gets our attention, and leads us away from the will of God must be dealt with. That can be a habit in our lives. Some sport or even watching TV. Anything which is being over emphasised in our lives could be a distraction. That means, something we give special importance or value to. It may even be doubt or fear, action, attitude, or relationship.
Anything that hinders, impede, slows us down, or gets us out of the will of God may have to be removed. We have to look in our own lives and say, ‘what is it in my lifestyle that hinders me or keeps me away from focusing on my God given goal, following His will or allowing Him to work His way in my life’. We all have to examine ourselves and lay aside the sin that ensnares us. Sometimes, it’s not easy to identify. We may have some habits in our lives that have been there for years and we may think, that’s just the way I am, but it may be retarding your spiritual walk.
Sometimes it could be just a little doubt that lingers on in our lives. We may think, does God even care or have a plan for my life? We sometimes make decisions and then ask God to bless us. But do we ask the mind of God before we make those decisions?