What Are We Running Toward? | Run Free, Part 8
Key Truth | Freedom is not the final goal; God frees us from what hinders us so we can follow Him more fully.
Key Scripture | “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem… to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant…” — Hebrews 12:22, 24 (NKJV)
Much of Hebrews 12 has been about what we need to lay down. We have talked about weights, wounds, weariness, correction, and the things that can take root in our hearts.
But eventually we have to remember why we are running.
We aren’t simply running away from what was heavy. We are running toward something.
Hebrews contrasts two mountains. Mount Sinai represented the giving of the law with thunder, fear, and distance. Mount Zion points us toward the new covenant and access to God through Jesus.
The goal of freedom isn’t simply a lighter life. It is greater nearness to God.
That matters to me in this season.
As God has been speaking to me about laying things down, it would be easy to measure progress by having fewer responsibilities or less pressure. But I don’t want less simply for the sake of less. I want greater alignment with Him.
A lighter schedule is not necessarily a more surrendered life. Changing responsibilities or structures only matters if it helps us become more attentive to what God is saying and doing.
That is also important as Opendoor celebrates 40 years.
We can build for another generation, develop leaders, plant churches, expand ministry, and dream about the future. Those are good things, but they cannot become the measure of our success.
From the beginning, this house has carried a hunger for God. We have wanted people to encounter Him, not simply attend something we built. Forty years later, that remains central to who we are.
Hebrews says, “you have come to Mount Zion.” Through Jesus, what was once distant has been brought near. We don’t have to perform our way into relationship with God. We have been invited in.
Maybe that changes the way we think about this next season. We aren’t trying to prove what we can accomplish after 40 years. We are asking how faithfully we can follow.
That brings to mind something Moses once told the Lord: “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.”
I understand that prayer more now than I did when I was younger.
There are places I no longer want to go simply because I am capable of getting there. There are things I don’t want to build merely because we have the resources to build them. I want what God wants, at the pace God wants it.
That is the race worth running.
After all the laying down, healing, and strengthening, the invitation of this season may be simpler than we realize. Freedom is not the destination. Freedom allows us to follow God without everything that once hindered us.
We are not becoming free so we can simply carry less. We are becoming free so we can follow Him more fully.
Reflection
Prayer | Father, thank You that through Jesus You have brought us near. Keep me from making freedom only about what I am leaving behind. Fix my heart on what You are calling me toward.
As You simplify and realign things in my life, make me more attentive and obedient to Your voice. I don’t want to go anywhere You are not leading.
As a church, after 40 years, keep our hearts centered on You. Let everything we build, dream and pursue flow from what You are asking of us.
Lead us into the next season, and give us the courage to follow at Your pace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Additional Scripture
Hebrews 12:18–24 — Mount Zion and the new covenant
Exodus 33:12–17 — Refusing to move without God
James 4:8 — Drawing near to God
Hebrews 4:14–16 — Coming boldly before God
Psalm 27:4 — The desire for God above everything else
John 15:4–5 — Abiding in Jesus
Key Scripture | “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem… to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant…” — Hebrews 12:22, 24 (NKJV)
Much of Hebrews 12 has been about what we need to lay down. We have talked about weights, wounds, weariness, correction, and the things that can take root in our hearts.
But eventually we have to remember why we are running.
We aren’t simply running away from what was heavy. We are running toward something.
Hebrews contrasts two mountains. Mount Sinai represented the giving of the law with thunder, fear, and distance. Mount Zion points us toward the new covenant and access to God through Jesus.
The goal of freedom isn’t simply a lighter life. It is greater nearness to God.
That matters to me in this season.
As God has been speaking to me about laying things down, it would be easy to measure progress by having fewer responsibilities or less pressure. But I don’t want less simply for the sake of less. I want greater alignment with Him.
A lighter schedule is not necessarily a more surrendered life. Changing responsibilities or structures only matters if it helps us become more attentive to what God is saying and doing.
That is also important as Opendoor celebrates 40 years.
We can build for another generation, develop leaders, plant churches, expand ministry, and dream about the future. Those are good things, but they cannot become the measure of our success.
From the beginning, this house has carried a hunger for God. We have wanted people to encounter Him, not simply attend something we built. Forty years later, that remains central to who we are.
Hebrews says, “you have come to Mount Zion.” Through Jesus, what was once distant has been brought near. We don’t have to perform our way into relationship with God. We have been invited in.
Maybe that changes the way we think about this next season. We aren’t trying to prove what we can accomplish after 40 years. We are asking how faithfully we can follow.
That brings to mind something Moses once told the Lord: “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.”
I understand that prayer more now than I did when I was younger.
There are places I no longer want to go simply because I am capable of getting there. There are things I don’t want to build merely because we have the resources to build them. I want what God wants, at the pace God wants it.
That is the race worth running.
After all the laying down, healing, and strengthening, the invitation of this season may be simpler than we realize. Freedom is not the destination. Freedom allows us to follow God without everything that once hindered us.
We are not becoming free so we can simply carry less. We are becoming free so we can follow Him more fully.
Reflection
- Are you more focused on what God is asking you to leave behind, or on where He is inviting you to follow Him next?
- What would greater nearness and alignment with God look like in your life in this season?
Prayer | Father, thank You that through Jesus You have brought us near. Keep me from making freedom only about what I am leaving behind. Fix my heart on what You are calling me toward.
As You simplify and realign things in my life, make me more attentive and obedient to Your voice. I don’t want to go anywhere You are not leading.
As a church, after 40 years, keep our hearts centered on You. Let everything we build, dream and pursue flow from what You are asking of us.
Lead us into the next season, and give us the courage to follow at Your pace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Additional Scripture
Hebrews 12:18–24 — Mount Zion and the new covenant
Exodus 33:12–17 — Refusing to move without God
James 4:8 — Drawing near to God
Hebrews 4:14–16 — Coming boldly before God
Psalm 27:4 — The desire for God above everything else
John 15:4–5 — Abiding in Jesus
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