Hebrews 1212-17 [12] Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, [13] and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. [14] Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. [15] See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; [16] that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. [17] For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
Hebrews 12:1 gives the Christian and the church a command regarding living the Christian life – lay aside everything that hinders and run the race of the Christian life with perseverance. We set our sights on the prize before us – Jesus Himself, and run the race. We are to lay aside every weight and lay aside the sin that so easily besets. We are to look to Jesus. We are to consider Him and His work of saving us from our sins. We are to endure discipline. How? How do we go about laying aside the extra baggage that slows us down spiritually? What do we do to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus … ? That is what these next verses are telling us. We run the race by fixing our eyes on Jesus. We keep our eyes fixed on Jesus by doing what verses 12-17 tell us.
Verse 12 – Lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees.
Isaiah 35:1-4 (ESV)The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;[2] it shall blossom abundantlyand rejoice with joy and singing.The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.They shall see the glory of the Lord,the majesty of our God.[3] Strengthen the weak hands,and make firm the feeble knees.[4] Say to those who have an anxious heart,“Be strong; fear not!Behold, your Godwill come with vengeance,with the recompense of God.He will come and save you.”
Job 4:3-4
3 Behold, you have instructed many,
and you have strengthened the weak hands.
4 Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
and you have made firm the feeble knees.
The Christian life is a race. It will not be won easily. It takes perseverance, discipline and a clear view of the prize that is set before us. None of us will make it alone. Hands droop and knees buckle. The job of those whose hands are still strong and whose knees are still pushing them ahead, is to help those who are starting to flag. The race will not be won without the mutual care for all who are in it. The Christian life is a marathon, but it is not solitary.
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