Hebrews 12:12 – 13 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet so the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

This exhortation follows closely the very long list of great men and women of faith named in the 11^th chapter of Hebrews. In the last verse of that chapter we are told that these individuals were all commended for their faith yet none of them received what had been promised because God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

It is a natural thing to grow weary in the physical as well as the spiritual life. The physical exhibits weariness in body language – the gaze becomes more fixed to the ground rather than on the vibrancy of life around you, the shoulders droop, hands hang listlessly and the gait becomes slow. When there is spiritual lethargy we begin to question our faith and the value of service in the house of God, our sensitivity to the feelings and plight of others becomes dulled, and our thirst for the Word diminishes.  Yet it is from the Word that we will receive the nourishment we need.

Look at the opening verses of Hebrews 12. Having identified the faithful as our cheerleaders, the writer then tells us to throw off everything that hinders our progress and persevere in the race marked out for us.    Most importantly he says: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning the shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  What joy? The joy of bringing many sons to glory and then to be reunited with his Father! (Hebrews 2:9 -11) You are one of those!  A child of God, a member of his family! That is your identity.

The Apostle Paul in writing to the church at Corinth recounted for them the many instances in which Jesus appeared to his followers after his resurrection and, on that basis, assured them that they too had certainty of being resurrected. Christ’s resurrection signaled victory over death and the promise of eternal life. So he concluded with the following encouragement which is equally valid for us: “Therefore my dear brothers stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58).