The phrase came to me from a teaching of Joel Osteen I listened to a while back. God brought it back to my remembrance.
Weight: Something heavy. A load. Burden, pressure.
Drag: Burden. Pull.
What is in your life that are weights and drags? It could be people that we are allowing to pull us down. It could be our behavior that is a weight/drag. The environment that we are in can weigh us down. We can live free. We do not have to be bound.
Hebrews 12:1-2 New Living Translation: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
My weight was fear due to a bad experience after getting my wisdom tooth pulled. I stopped going to the dentist. My aunt told me early on that I needed to go to the dentist when she saw a shift in my teeth. I was so crippled with fear until I became comfortable in that state. I was like the man at the pool of Bethesda in John 5. I made excuses and stayed in that state. I made a decision not to live in fear. Jesus asked the man at Bethesda pool do you want to be healed? The man at the pool made excuses that someone else had gone before him when he tried to get into the pool. Jesus told the man to rise, take up your bed, and walk. In John 5:9, New King James: The man was immediately made well, took up his bed and walked. Please read my previous blog, The Fool At The Pool. I went back to the dentist and got x-rays of my teeth. God led me every step of the way when I got up. He made the provision for me to get surgery. Fear cost me dearly because I did not listen to wisdom. Thank God for His grace and mercy.
We all can identify with the man at the pool. We have been dealing with specific areas in our lives for years: those are weights/drags. Do you want your deliverance in your finances, relationships, health, dreams, and behavior? We have to stop making excuses, get up and do what the word of God says. Ask God for help and wisdom on how to do it. God left us the word of God and His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. If we slip up, repent, ask God for help and start to go back at it again. A righteous man falls seven times but gets back up (Proverbs 24:16).
Those who have not received Jesus in your life, are you making excuses why you have not received your salvation? It could be excuses like “What if heaven or hell is not real?” “I will come to God when I am ready, or have it all together.” “What if I miss out on having fun?” “I got hurt in the church, and they are hypocrites.” We have to answer to God for our own life. We do not want to gamble with our eternity. My childhood pastor would ask, “If you died tonight, will heaven be your home?” If you can’t answer that question or are unsure about your salvation, you need to receive God in your heart. We can’t do good on our own. We need God’s help. All we have to do is confess that we are a sinner, repent of our sins, believe that Jesus died, rose from the dead, and is alive, and receive Jesus into our hearts, making Him Lord over our lives and we are saved (Romans 9:10). Receive Him now before it is too late.
I am not perfect. Neither is anyone else. However, we serve a perfect God. We are transformed by renewing our minds to the word of God daily, spending quiet time with God, and worshiping Him. You mess up, repent and get back on the right track. Do not live in condemnation. There is no condemnation when you repent and get back in Christ. We are truly free when we live a life of God. It is an exciting journey. When you get tired of your state, you will either change or die in that state. Some of us may have to hit the very bottom to change. It reminds me of a song by Deitrick Haddon Crossroads: I love the verse:
Walking ’round Empty Inside
From The Pain, You Try To Hide
Deep Down, It’s Misery
And You Think That He Can’t See
But God Understands
Won’t You Take My Hand
You Don’t Have To Hurt No More
God Is Knocking At Your Door
[Bridge:]
Take My Hand Let Me Lead The Way
Let Me Lead You To A Brighter Day
I Know You Think Nobody Knows
But You’re Standing At The Crossroads
Chorus: Where Did You Lose Your Faith
And Why Did You Walk Away
Gained The World
Now Was It Worth Your Soul?
Now You’re Standing At The Crossroads
Live free and be glad. Get rid of the weights and drags!
Prayer: Lord, I thank you your yoke is easy, and burdens are light. I repent of allowing people, my emotions, sin, and things to weigh me down. I get up, take up my bed, and walk. I make no more excuses for my state. I lay those weights aside and run the race of faith, looking unto Jesus, the author, and finisher of my faith. Through faith and patience, I receive victory in every area of my life. Patience is a character of love, and faith works by love. Lord, help me to walk in love because it is the greatest commandment as a believer in Jesus Christ; I give you the praise and the honor in Jesus’ name! Amen.
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