It was amazing, the things that creep into a fellas’ thoughts when he’s locked away from the light.”
–Lou Bradshaw (Crazy Jack Daggart)
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
–1 John 1:7 (NKJV)
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Have you ever been so tired that you can no longer walk? Maybe you think so, but in reality you can take another step, then another. I remember the time that my whole family went on a seven-mile hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. We carried in our lunch, and had quite the day, but on the way out, the trail seemed to get longer, the steps harder. It was because we were tired, and the altitude was affecting us Texans. One more step, not much further. Then Annie exclaimed, “The parking lot!” I hated to speak the truth. “That’s the lower parking lot, ours is about a quarter mile up toward the lake.” She groaned, “I can’t make it.” It hit her when she looked that we would have to hike back uphill to get to our vehicle. Don’t fear, she made it, but I did walk behind her, pushing her along the way.
So what hinders our walk to the royal city of God? We’re climbing higher, so perhaps the altitude. Hmmm, did Moses notice the altitude when he met with God on the mountain; did his legs grow weary?
“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…. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.”
–Hebrews 12:1, 12-13 (NKJV)
We have not lost our way, we are just tired, worn out from the cares of the world. Worn out from the constant fighting. Keep going–“Endurance is a key indicator of spiritual fitness.” (Alistair Begg) We need to be like the writer of Psalm 119 who said that “my soul clings to the dust…and melts from heaviness.” What is the answer? Why is the one seeking after God so disheartened? He prays that God will “enlarge my heart.”
In my reading I came across some pertinent words from that noted preacher of the early 1800s, Charles Bridges. During his time on earth he was a well-recognized preacher of the Church of England.
“Thus by the shackles of sin, unbelief, and self-righteousness, we are indeed ‘sore let and hindered in running the race set before us.’ The light is obscured. Faith loses sight of its object. What otherwise would be a delight becomes a weariness. Obedience is irksome; self-denial intolerable; the cross heavy. The heart is, as it were, ‘shut up, and it cannot go forth.’ Faith is so low: desires are so faith; hopes so narrow, that it seems impossible to make progress. Frequent defeats induce despondency. The world is resorted to. Sin ensnares and captivates. Thus ‘we did run well; but we have been hindered.'”
What is the remedy? Endure in praying. Endure in the reading of God’s Word. “I will run the course of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge my heart.” (Ps 119:32, NKJV) Hope, faith, in the One who cares for you. He will uphold you when you can no longer lift your foot for another step. Take inventory and do not fall into the snares of the devil. Don’t turn to the world in your despondency, but wholly lean on the arms of Jesus.
“O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”
–Helen Lemmel
———————————–
Have you ever been so tired that you can no longer walk? Maybe you think so, but in reality you can take another step, then another. I remember the time that my whole family went on a seven-mile hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. We carried in our lunch, and had quite the day, but on the way out, the trail seemed to get longer, the steps harder. It was because we were tired, and the altitude was affecting us Texans. One more step, not much further. Then Annie exclaimed, “The parking lot!” I hated to speak the truth. “That’s the lower parking lot, ours is about a quarter mile up toward the lake.” She groaned, “I can’t make it.” It hit her when she looked that we would have to hike back uphill to get to our vehicle. Don’t fear, she made it, but I did walk behind her, pushing her along the way.
So what hinders our walk to the royal city of God? We’re climbing higher, so perhaps the altitude. Hmmm, did Moses notice the altitude when he met with God on the mountain; did his legs grow weary?
“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…. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.”
–Hebrews 12:1, 12-13 (NKJV)
We have not lost our way, we are just tired, worn out from the cares of the world. Worn out from the constant fighting. Keep going–“Endurance is a key indicator of spiritual fitness.” (Alistair Begg) We need to be like the writer of Psalm 119 who said that “my soul clings to the dust…and melts from heaviness.” What is the answer? Why is the one seeking after God so disheartened? He prays that God will “enlarge my heart.”
In my reading I came across some pertinent words from that noted preacher of the early 1800s, Charles Bridges. During his time on earth he was a well-recognized preacher of the Church of England.
“Thus by the shackles of sin, unbelief, and self-righteousness, we are indeed ‘sore let and hindered in running the race set before us.’ The light is obscured. Faith loses sight of its object. What otherwise would be a delight becomes a weariness. Obedience is irksome; self-denial intolerable; the cross heavy. The heart is, as it were, ‘shut up, and it cannot go forth.’ Faith is so low: desires are so faith; hopes so narrow, that it seems impossible to make progress. Frequent defeats induce despondency. The world is resorted to. Sin ensnares and captivates. Thus ‘we did run well; but we have been hindered.'”
What is the remedy? Endure in praying. Endure in the reading of God’s Word. “I will run the course of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge my heart.” (Ps 119:32, NKJV) Hope, faith, in the One who cares for you. He will uphold you when you can no longer lift your foot for another step. Take inventory and do not fall into the snares of the devil. Don’t turn to the world in your despondency, but wholly lean on the arms of Jesus.
“O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”
–Helen Lemmel