July 19, 2012 - Hebrews 12:1

            Today’s Thursday Thought is the 500^th that I’ve written since starting in March, 2002.  I hope that they have been a blessing to each of you.  Here’s today’s thought.

            “Therefore, since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  Hebrews 12:1.

            The Lord seems to take me back to this verse quite often, and I realize that I wrote on it around six months ago, but I wanted to share a new image that helped me to embrace a little more the significance of this verse.

            The image that came to me was of a grand bicycle race, such as the Tour de France.  In the race, there is what is called the peloton, which is the main body of riders.  And you have, spread out all along the race route, the crowd.  This crowd of people is shouting their encouragements, waving flags, and in their own way celebrating the accomplishments of the riders.  The riders in these races routinely travel up to and over 100 miles on any particular race day.  It is a grueling event to endure!  And the crowd cheers them on day after day!

            Think of ourselves as the riders in the race – the grand race of life, gathered together in one huge peloton and racing towards the finish line.  And there is a “great cloud of witnesses,” positioned strategically along our route to encourage and cheer us on!  The race is grueling, with all kinds of obstacles to avoid and mountains to climb.  And in this race of life, we can never tell what kind of weather we will encounter.  And yet, the crowd – the “great cloud of witnesses” – cheers us on day after day.

            Questions to consider: How will you run your race of life?  Who is in the great cloud of witnesses, cheering you on?  What obstacles have you encountered and how will you avoid them as your race goes on?

Prayer: Father, give me the strength to move forward daily in my race of life.  Help me to ride so as to win the prize, pressing forward to do the best that I can with Your help.  Amen.