I'm a sprinter. Well, I was a sprinter. Those days are long past. Our high school track uniforms consisted of a sleeveless muscle/under type shirts, skimpy, extra short, silky running shorts, and track shoes with no socks. Our warm ups were a heavy, shiny, nylon material with a long sleeve zipper top and an elastic, draw string bottom with a zipper at the ankle. We'd always warm up in the sweats before a race with a multitude of stretching exercises, calesthentics and some easy jogging. We were instructed to leave our sweats on until right before we ran our event, even if the temps were in the 80's or above.
One of my teamates and I were preparing for a race. We set our starting blocks. Tried a couple starts. Those heavy sweats were always cumbersome and must have added 10-20 lbs. When you took them off, you felt so light and free, like stepping out of a shower. To be honest, you felt like you were wearing nothing but your track shoes.
As my teamate and I returned to the starting line, we took off our warm ups. I looked over at him and he was standing in front of his starting blocks in shirt, shoes and athletic supporter. No shorts! He was totally unaware that when he had removed those heavy, bulky sweats, that his thin, silky running shorts had gone with them. It reminded me of the first olympics when contestents competed in the buff. Now thats getting rid of entanglements.
A lot of us are carrying a lot of extra weight. I don't mean just lbs. I mean entanglements, things that hold us back, that keep us from running the race of life light o'foot. It might be a relationship gone awry or one that's inappropriate. It might be a hurt or a grudge or even a health issue. It might be an obsession or some worldly goal. Many things hold us back, including sin.
As a sprinter, I was taught to give everything I've got from the starting gun; to run with my eyes focused on the finishing tape. If I looked to the side at a competitor or even at the ground to watch my lane markers, I would lose time and speed and probably the race. That's why the Hebrew writer says to fix your eyes on Jesus. He's standing in your lane at the finish line. The stands are filled with all the saints gone by rooting you on to victory.
You're stumbling down the track. Isn't time to take off your entanglements? Take off the heavy sweats. The feeling of freedom is exhilirating. You experience a freshness that comes from the breeze of God's Holy Spirit. Your burden is lifted. Now you can run with the lightness of a feather, with speed you've never experienced before.
God, a lot of things create entanglements in my life. The daily routines and responsibilities, the pressures, my poor decisions and wrong pursuits are heavy and tripping and distracting. Help me keep my eyes on Jesus as I run my race. Keep me mindful of the saints in the stands who are watching me and chearing for me. Help me disrobe those entanglements, get rid of the bulky sweats so I can really run.
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