It is very easy to get caught up with the demands of everyday life as a Christian. Call it a ‘rut’ or what you will. In so doing, we tend to look at the distractions from life we engage in as either being sinful or not being sinful. We try to live our life accordingly in order to maintain our Christianity. For example, drinking alcohol. Scripture is quite clear when the Word of God is rightly divided, that drinking a beer or glass of wine after a hard day at work is not sinful. At the same time, we can all agree that drinking too much and getting drunk is sinful. But this article is not about drinking alcohol per se. What I want to do is show you the subject of ‘obstacles to a closer walk with Jesus’ in a whole new light. Read carefully the scripture below:
“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1b KJV)
Look at the word ‘weight’. I am not looking to cover the subject of what is sinful (Holy Spirit conviction should take care of that). Instead, I want to look at the weights that so easily beset us. You can call these weights what you will: distractions, hindrances, obstacles, road blocks, etc. These weights, even though they might not be sinful, can be just as disrupting to having a close communion with the LORD. Anything that keeps us from having a closer walk with Jesus should flash a warning in our spirit, but oh how often it is ignored.
I am sure that if I was to ask you, “Do you want to walk closer and closer with Jesus as each day goes by?”, you would answer yes. Look carefully at the verse below:
Treat her (your wife) as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. (1 Peter 3:7b NLT)
Look at the word ‘hindered’ in the verse. Wow! The Bible reconfirms that there are things that can hinder our walk and talk with the LORD. Nobody but yourself can judge and take action on these hindrances.
Did you ever wonder about the following verse and how you can live it out?:
“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV)
I will share with you how I wasted many years until I finally learned how to do it. I lived as a righteous Christian, but I always felt I could be closer with the LORD. I do not like sweet drinks, so I liked to have a beer or wine with my meal. I was not convicted that it was sin, but I felt that I was not living to my full potential. Not until I gave it up along with a few other odds and ends, that I felt myself catapulted into another realm. I finally had the freedom to truly learn what it means to ‘pray without ceasing’. Every waking minute is an exchange with the LORD of my life.
I remember when I used to run professionally for a major shoe company many years ago. I was so obsessed with having the lightest weight on my feet so I could turn in the fastest times that I got caught wearing a competitor’s shoes in a race that I won and had to do some explaining for my actions. Shouldn’t I have the same zeal while in the spiritual race I am in?
I hope this challenges you to truly examine what is in your life that is weighing you down and I pray for you to have the strength to cast it off in order to run unhindered!
Annointing 