Today’s lesson will focus on tripping. And more importantly, how not to trip. I am an expert at both tripping and falling, so read this carefully.

Hebrews 12 (Common English Bible)

12 So then, with endurance, let’s also run the race that is laid out in front of us, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. Let’s throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up, ² and fix our eyes on Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfecter. 

I don’t even know how many times I have fallen while running and it all has to do with what I where I was looking. The first time happened when Kenn and I were running and a lady with an adorable little Corgi dog came toward us. I slipped behind Kenn so they could pass us, but of course instead of looking where I was going, I was looking at the dog and BAM, my toe caught on a piece of the concrete that was raised up just one inch and I fell and broke my arm. Just recently I did the same thing looking for an alligator in a pond I was passing on a run in Florida. My toe caught a raised up edge of the concrete slab and I took a header. But there may be a case made for looking at the alligator in this instance, however.

Have you ever gotten tripped up because you were looking the wrong way? We can all relate to this hard lesson learned on keeping your eyes forward and on the path God has set before you! 

Getting tripped up by sin often starts subtly. A mild flirtation becomes a destructive relationship and a marriage ends. An envious spirit becomes slanderous gossip and reputations are damaged. A few missed Sundays turn into months and years away from a community of faith. We look up and suddenly realize we are so far from God’s path we can’t even see it anymore. How can we prevent that from happening?

The obvious question is, where are you looking right now? What are you looking at right now? Let us not forget that Genesis 1 tells us that Eve SAW the forbidden fruit and then ate.

Genesis 3:6 (Common English Bible)

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food & pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some & ate it.

It all begins with a look.

Are you focused on the course of faith that has been laid out before you or have your eyes strayed away to other distractions? Lord knows we live in a world of distraction. Social media, thousands of streaming channels that offer escape from the real world, political news that is endless in our 24-hour news cycle, attention diverted by wealth and greed and trying to get ahead of your neighbors, obsessing over the success of our children and having to post every minute of their lives … the list goes on and on. Many of us truthfully spend a good portion of each day looking at our phones.

But where should you be looking? Scripture instructs us to just keep looking at Jesus.

When we look at Jesus, we see the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

When we look at Jesus, we see a race completed with determination, endurance, and grace.

When we look at Jesus, we see his power to continue moving forward and away from old habits and baggage.

When we look at Jesus, we see our future.

Keep moving forward! Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Not Today, Satan!