Sorry to bring it up, but how is your weight? The holiday season is at “full steam ahead” until the end of the year. The feasting has already begun. Body weight is one thing, but what other extra weight are you carrying? Are you carrying burdens or unconfessed sin that are weighing down your soul? Are you allowing unforgiveness or bitterness to weigh on you emotionally? Has your tendency to overcommit and your workload created the weight of stress, anxiety and the sense of being overwhelmed? Being overwhelmed is the idea of giving a person too much of something, such as weight.
The author of Hebrews instructs us to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us” (Heb. 12:1). There are certain weights you were never meant to carry. One author stated, “Jesus has called you to run a race. It’s a faith race. It’s a long-distance and multi-terrain.” You do not want to carry any unnecessary weight that prevents you from running this race the way Jesus intended. Laying aside these “weights” is not a one-time, forever decision, but a daily awareness that must be developed over time and with a lot of practice. It is that daily awareness of laying those weights aside, again.
Have you ever seen runners carrying a weight vest to build endurance? They are not only carrying their own body weight, but they also add weight to increase their endurance. There are, though, some weights that God never intended you to carry. Yes, there are external weights you were not designed to lift, but there are also internal weights for which the same principle is true. Bill Elliff says there are two weights people carry that they were never designed to hold onto and never expected to have to bear. Those two weights are unresolved sin and unresolved forgiveness.
Our soul, mind and emotions will eventually break down under the burden of these two weights, but they can be lifted off your spiritual shoulders. You will sin, and you will get hurt, but the key is to deal with these two weights God’s way. There is no other route than the immediate confession and repentance when you sin. You must also maintain a willingness to forgive others when they mistreat, hurt or attack you. You cannot allow these two items to exist in your heart and life if you desire to live for Him 100%. Do not allow hypocrisy to exist by practicing something different than what you preach.
Listen to the wisdom of King David in Psalm 38:3-5, who understood the weightiness of unconfessed sin: “There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.” David also explains that weight in Psalm 32 and stated that the cure is “acknowledging” sin and says, “I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord.” Have you resolved your personal sin God’s way?
If you desire to be the leader God desires you to be, you must first lead yourself well, then lead others. Is there any unconfessed sin in your life? Have you dealt with your pride issues? Are you secretly visiting websites you shouldn’t be? Are you unwilling to listen to the advice and input of others because you know what you are doing? Is your leadership approach overbearing, dictatorial and toxic because your attitude is that it will be your way or they can hit the highway? In your early ministry, the greatest temptations are your flesh and pride. Watch out, because it can then turn into cynicism.
This is why your daily personal prayer life is imperative. Your daily walking and talking with Him is where the weight of unconfessed sin can be lifted off your spiritual shoulders. John Owen stated, “But what the minister is on His knees in secret before God almighty, that he is and no more.” Tim Keller said, “The infallible test of spiritual integrity, Jesus says, is your private prayer life.” Prayer is what leads the individual follower of Christ to self-knowledge and awareness of their personal sin. It is impossible to achieve that discernment and clarity any other way. Check out Psalm 51:3-4.
Jesus told us in John 16:8 that the Holy Spirit would have this ministry after He left, “And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” Are you placing yourself in front of His light of truth and willingly allowing Him to expose the sin you need to confess? Are you willing to pray as David prayed in Psalm 139:23-24 NIV, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Maybe you are not experiencing intimacy with God because you and your sin are in the way?
When you pray, begin with praise, and that is where you ask God, “What do I need to know about you and who You are?” (Heb. 13:15-16). The next step in your prayer should be repentance, and you ask Him, “What do I need to see about myself?” This is the primary way you experience profound spiritual change and transformation. Now you can reorder your life and your priorities according to His word and holiness. It is where you truly get to know God and finally treat Him as God over all your life, sin and temptations. The weight is removed through confession and agreeing with God about your sin.
Are you positioning yourself daily to hear from God and asking Him to expose every sin so that He can remove the weight of unconfessed sin from your life? Confession involves Him exposing your sin, you expressing your sin and then asking God to help you expel that sin from your life.
