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.
This verse is my life in a sense. Sin can weigh us down, and take away our joy. But, keep up the fight!! Life is a race with many obstacles that will test us. Some learn quickly and get stronger. Some of us will run into the same challenge time after time after time until they give up; sadly without Jesus. I fully understand why God gives all of us a choice in life. He is with us when the gun goes off and then we have the choice to run with or without God. Many of us, including me, have decided to focus on everything in front of us; looking to the next obstacle or view around the corner. Knowing God; but many times we lean toward Him only when the course is to difficult to do it alone. All of us are running a long race and with any endurance race it doesn't matter what happened along the way; it is how you finished. Will it be with Jesus carrying you because you have nothing left? That is how my race will end. I love everything about Endurance running. It pushes you to distances that you thought were impossible because of the pain. But God has designed us to become stronger through pain. I have found that I learn the best when facing difficult challenges. So I chose to run.
