Looking Unto Jesus | Run Free, Part 3
Key Truth | We run the race before us best when our eyes are fixed on Jesus, not on what we are leaving behind.
Key Scripture | “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” — Hebrews 12:1–3 (NKJV)
Hebrews 12 begins by telling us what to lay down, but quickly turns our attention to something even more important: where to look.
“Looking unto Jesus.”
There are weights that need to be released and wounds that need to be healed, but we were never meant to spend our lives focused on what we are trying to lay down. The purpose of becoming lighter is so that we can run more freely.
This is especially important when dealing with wounds. There is value in understanding what happened to us and recognizing what it produced in us. The Holy Spirit will often bring things to the surface because He wants to heal them. But healing is not an invitation to make the wound the center of our story.
The phrase “looking unto” carries the idea of turning our attention away from one thing in order to fix it on another. That matters because whatever holds our attention eventually influences our direction.
When our attention remains fixed on disappointment, we begin expecting disappointment. When we continually rehearse an offense, we allow something from our past to occupy space in our future. Healing doesn’t require us to forget our story; it means we begin interpreting our story through the faithfulness of God rather than through what happened to us.
Hebrews calls Jesus “the author and finisher of our faith.” I love that language because it reminds me that the people who participated in painful chapters of my life are not the authors of my story. Neither are my failures, disappointments, successes, responsibilities, titles, or accomplishments.
There are chapters I would have written differently. There are things I wish had never happened and decisions I wish I could make again. There are relationships I thought would look different today and seasons I didn’t understand while I was walking through them. But none of those things have the authority to write the ending. The One who began the work is still working.
That has become increasingly important to me in this season. As God has been asking me to lay some things down, I don’t want to become consumed with what I am releasing. If all I can see is what I am laying down, release can feel like loss. But when I trust the One leading me, I can believe that obedience is making room for what He has next.
This is what I mean when I say I don’t want to run away from God. I want to run in alignment with God. The goal isn’t simply less responsibility, a slower schedule, or an easier life.
The goal isn’t to run faster. The goal is to run at the pace of God.
After 40 years as a church, this matters for us as well. We should look back enough to remember. We should tell the stories, honor the sacrifices, celebrate the miracles, and thank God for every season that brought us here. Scripture repeatedly teaches God’s people to remember His faithfulness.
But remembrance and nostalgia are not the same thing. Remembrance says, “Look what God has done.” Nostalgia can quietly begin saying, “God needs to do it that way again.”
The great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12 isn’t surrounding us so we will spend our lives staring at them. Their lives testify to the faithfulness of God and give us courage to run the race that has now been placed before us.
That is how we honor 40 years. We remember where we have been without requiring the future to look like the past. Some methods will change. Responsibilities will shift. New generations will lead in ways that look different. What must remain unchanged is the One we are following.
And Hebrews gives us the clearest picture of what that kind of forward-looking faithfulness looks like in Jesus Himself. He endured the cross “for the joy that was set before Him.” The suffering was real, but He could see beyond it. The cross was not the end of the story.
There is something set before us too. There are people we haven’t reached, leaders we haven’t developed, churches that haven’t been planted, dreams that haven’t become reality, and another generation that needs to encounter the presence of God for themselves.
We cannot run toward what is ahead while constantly staring at what is behind.
So the invitation of Hebrews 12 is simple: lay down what He asks you to lay down, allow Him to heal what needs to be healed, and lift your eyes toward the race ahead.
The One who authored your faith has not abandoned the story halfway through. He is still writing, still forming, and still leading.
Look unto Jesus and keep running.
Reflection
Prayer | Father, thank You for every place You have brought me from and every way You have been faithful. Thank You that the difficult chapters of my story do not determine how the story ends.
Show me anything that has captured too much of my attention. Where I have become focused on disappointment, wounds, success, failure, or even what You are asking me to release, help me lift my eyes again.
Teach me to follow You into this next season without fear. I don’t want to run ahead of You or live looking backward. I want to move at Your pace and remain aligned with Your presence.
As a church, teach us to steward 40 years of history with gratitude while remaining ready for what is ahead. May we honor what You have done without limiting what You want to do next. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Additional Scripture
Hebrews 12:1–3 — Running with our eyes fixed on Jesus
Philippians 1:6 — God finishing the work He began
Philippians 3:12–14 — Reaching forward to what is ahead
Isaiah 43:18–19 — Recognizing the new thing God is doing
John 5:19–20 — Moving in alignment with the Father
2 Corinthians 3:18 — Transformation as we behold the Lord
Key Scripture | “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” — Hebrews 12:1–3 (NKJV)
Hebrews 12 begins by telling us what to lay down, but quickly turns our attention to something even more important: where to look.
“Looking unto Jesus.”
There are weights that need to be released and wounds that need to be healed, but we were never meant to spend our lives focused on what we are trying to lay down. The purpose of becoming lighter is so that we can run more freely.
This is especially important when dealing with wounds. There is value in understanding what happened to us and recognizing what it produced in us. The Holy Spirit will often bring things to the surface because He wants to heal them. But healing is not an invitation to make the wound the center of our story.
The phrase “looking unto” carries the idea of turning our attention away from one thing in order to fix it on another. That matters because whatever holds our attention eventually influences our direction.
When our attention remains fixed on disappointment, we begin expecting disappointment. When we continually rehearse an offense, we allow something from our past to occupy space in our future. Healing doesn’t require us to forget our story; it means we begin interpreting our story through the faithfulness of God rather than through what happened to us.
Hebrews calls Jesus “the author and finisher of our faith.” I love that language because it reminds me that the people who participated in painful chapters of my life are not the authors of my story. Neither are my failures, disappointments, successes, responsibilities, titles, or accomplishments.
There are chapters I would have written differently. There are things I wish had never happened and decisions I wish I could make again. There are relationships I thought would look different today and seasons I didn’t understand while I was walking through them. But none of those things have the authority to write the ending. The One who began the work is still working.
That has become increasingly important to me in this season. As God has been asking me to lay some things down, I don’t want to become consumed with what I am releasing. If all I can see is what I am laying down, release can feel like loss. But when I trust the One leading me, I can believe that obedience is making room for what He has next.
This is what I mean when I say I don’t want to run away from God. I want to run in alignment with God. The goal isn’t simply less responsibility, a slower schedule, or an easier life.
The goal isn’t to run faster. The goal is to run at the pace of God.
After 40 years as a church, this matters for us as well. We should look back enough to remember. We should tell the stories, honor the sacrifices, celebrate the miracles, and thank God for every season that brought us here. Scripture repeatedly teaches God’s people to remember His faithfulness.
But remembrance and nostalgia are not the same thing. Remembrance says, “Look what God has done.” Nostalgia can quietly begin saying, “God needs to do it that way again.”
The great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12 isn’t surrounding us so we will spend our lives staring at them. Their lives testify to the faithfulness of God and give us courage to run the race that has now been placed before us.
That is how we honor 40 years. We remember where we have been without requiring the future to look like the past. Some methods will change. Responsibilities will shift. New generations will lead in ways that look different. What must remain unchanged is the One we are following.
And Hebrews gives us the clearest picture of what that kind of forward-looking faithfulness looks like in Jesus Himself. He endured the cross “for the joy that was set before Him.” The suffering was real, but He could see beyond it. The cross was not the end of the story.
There is something set before us too. There are people we haven’t reached, leaders we haven’t developed, churches that haven’t been planted, dreams that haven’t become reality, and another generation that needs to encounter the presence of God for themselves.
We cannot run toward what is ahead while constantly staring at what is behind.
So the invitation of Hebrews 12 is simple: lay down what He asks you to lay down, allow Him to heal what needs to be healed, and lift your eyes toward the race ahead.
The One who authored your faith has not abandoned the story halfway through. He is still writing, still forming, and still leading.
Look unto Jesus and keep running.
Reflection
- What has been holding too much of your attention lately—your past, a disappointment, a loss, a success, or something God is asking you to release?
- What would it look like for you to intentionally fix your eyes on Jesus and follow His pace in this season?
Prayer | Father, thank You for every place You have brought me from and every way You have been faithful. Thank You that the difficult chapters of my story do not determine how the story ends.
Show me anything that has captured too much of my attention. Where I have become focused on disappointment, wounds, success, failure, or even what You are asking me to release, help me lift my eyes again.
Teach me to follow You into this next season without fear. I don’t want to run ahead of You or live looking backward. I want to move at Your pace and remain aligned with Your presence.
As a church, teach us to steward 40 years of history with gratitude while remaining ready for what is ahead. May we honor what You have done without limiting what You want to do next. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Additional Scripture
Hebrews 12:1–3 — Running with our eyes fixed on Jesus
Philippians 1:6 — God finishing the work He began
Philippians 3:12–14 — Reaching forward to what is ahead
Isaiah 43:18–19 — Recognizing the new thing God is doing
John 5:19–20 — Moving in alignment with the Father
2 Corinthians 3:18 — Transformation as we behold the Lord
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