HOW TO OVERCOME MY HIDDEN WEAKNESSES…

HEBREWS 12:1-2: “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus,  the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him,  he endured the cross, despising the shame,  and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” CSB

OBSERVATION: What is the sin that always trips me up (so easily ensnares me)? What is the sin that continually comes knocking at my door? What is the sin that I have struggled with, only to fall over and over again? What is the sin that keeps knocking me out of the race?

There are two things we struggle with in life. First, there are the hindrances in our path that try to keep us from reaching our destination. Second, there are the hidden weaknesses we have that keep trying to pull us back to our old, sinful nature. Many of us have learned skills to deal with the hindrances of life. Yet, dealing with the hidden weaknesses of life is a different matter altogether!

Let’s look at some of the differences between the two.

• A hindrance is something external. The sin that trips me up, my hidden weakness, is internal.

• A hindrance can be dealt with in many different ways. My hidden weaknesses cannot be overcome by using the same external options or opportunities.

• A hindrance is visible to all. My hidden weaknesses are known only to me.

• A hindrance is common to all. My hidden weakness is unique to me.

While we all may deal with similar hidden weaknesses, the trigger for these weaknesses is as unique as our thumbprint. These hidden weaknesses are flaws in our spiritual DNA. As we go through life, we learn to cope with the difficulties of life through these hidden weaknesses. The temptation now would be to begin listing them, but this will not help one in their struggle.

We all know what our hidden weakness is!

I can hire a tow truck to remove a tree that has fallen in the roadway and is keeping me from my destination. However, this same tow truck will do little, if anything, to haul away the sin that so easily ensnares me. External means and methods have no power against the spiritual and emotional struggles of life. This is why people who move to a different city or trade one marital partner for the next find themselves dealing with the same hidden struggles all over again.

While we all can move a rock from our path, we have no power to overcome that one weakness that keeps tripping us up! Is it all hopeless?

NO! There is hope! This hope is not found in the earnestness of our human effort. It is not found in a 12-step program to overcome our weaknesses. (Although these can be helpful, they have no power to deliver one from sin!) When Paul looked at his life, when he honestly weighed the condition of his heart, he threw up his hands and cried out…

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”Romans 7:24 CSB

What was Paul saying? He was not saying that our human predicament is hopeless. He was simply proclaiming the truth that we are powerless to overcome the sinfulness of our old nature, our hidden weaknesses. Yet, in the same breath, Paul proclaims the answer to our struggle. There is hope.There is One who can bring us victory over our hidden weaknesses..

“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!…” Romans 7:25a CSB

The writer of Hebrews is telling us the same thing. There is hope. Yet, our hope is not found in what we do but in what Jesus has done for us! As long as we try and overcome our hidden weaknesses through our own strength, we will experience a cycle of –

victory…temptation…failure…repentance…remorse…cleansing…victory…temptation...

only to repeat this cycle over and over again. This is the same cycle that the Children of Israel experienced as they wandered through the wilderness.

Yet, we have an advantage over the Children of Israel. We are not called to battle these hidden weaknesses on our own. We are called to look to the one who took away both the power and shame of these weaknesses through His victorious death and resurrection on the cross.

We are called to look to Jesus!

“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus,  the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him,  he endured the cross, despising the shame,  and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2 CSB

In the early 1800s in America, there was a boom in travel to the New West. Yet, this New West was a wild territory. One would be a fool to load up their wagon and head out on this treacherous adventure all alone! A guide was needed. (Have you ever played Oregon Trail?) Someone who had traveled the road before. Someone who knew all the pitfalls and all the provisions along the way. Someone who could lead you, encourage you, and protect you!

Our guide to life, the pioneer of our faith, the one who can alone bring us to victory over the sin that so easily ensnares us, is Jesus Christ our Lord!

When Jesus called us to salvation, He knew all of our weaknesses, visible and hidden! Jesus is not a pioneer (High Priest) who is not moved by our human limitations. Jesus faced all the hindrances and human weaknesses that we will face – VICTORIOUSLY! He is not taken by surprise when we have failed, and He stands ready to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness so that we can continue the journey!

As Jesus hung on the cross, He did so to pay the full penalty for our sin, and to proclaim the victory over both the hindrances of life and our hidden human weaknesses. As we acknowledge our hidden weaknesses, Jesus provides grace to rise up, choose the pathway of life, and get on with our journey of faith! I can overcome my hidden weaknesses each day – only as I keep my eyes upon Jesus and trust fully in His great grace!

“Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God…”Hebrews 12:15a CSB

“But he gives greater grace. Therefore, he says: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” James 4:6-10 CSB

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your GREATER GRACE through Jesus Christ, my Lord! Thank You for Your love that is greater than my hidden weaknesses. Thank You for meeting me today with Your love and forgiveness. Help me to run the race that is set before me, removing the hindrances in my path, and allowing You to heal the sin that so easily ensnares me. Cleanse me from my hidden weaknesses. Help me to look into Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of my faith!

In Jesus’ Name!