Pursuing Jesus with Your Whole Heart: Part 1

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:1-2

This verse encapsulates the theme behind Morning Glory: pursuing Jesus with your whole heart.

Pursuing Jesus with your whole heart is beyond difficult. In our fallen human nature, it’s impossible. However, with the grace of God, we can pursue Him with our whole hearts until we see Him face to face in heaven. That’s why there will be a lot of posts here on Morning Glory about pursuing Jesus with your whole heart.

There are two imperative commands in this verse for us: to “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us,” and “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.”

1. “…let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us…”

This is the first command in this verse for us. We cannot pursue Jesus with our whole hearts until we have laid aside every encumbrance. My dad said to picture this as trying to run with a huge python wrapped around your body. Not very effective, right?

We must lay aside sin—and not only sin—but also distractions. Maybe too much time on social media? Clothes? Guys? Whatever it is, if it’s keeping you from running your race to the fullest, it’s got to go. 

Recently, I did a post called “How To: Defeat Sin in Your Life.” Check out that post for more practical advice on how to lay aside these hindrances, sins, and distractions.

2. “…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…”

Sisters, here is the key to pursuing Jesus with our whole hearts.

It’s fixing our eyes on Jesus.

We cannot run toward something when we’re looking at other things! We cannot even lay aside hindrances unless we’re looking to Christ!

In my life, I’ve found that the best way to keep your eyes on Him is to spend time in His Word seeing who He is. If you see a gorgeous girl or super cute guy walk by…well, you’re probably going to stare. God is so pure, so righteous, so beautiful, that once you catch a glimpse of who He is, you only want more.

If you find that you’re getting distracted from the race set before you, it might be because you don’t know WHO you’re pursuing.

Also, in this verse, it gives you a glimpse of who Jesus is: the Author and Perfect of our faith. He is enduring.

Not only does this verse tell us to endure the race set before us by fixing our eyes on Jesus, but it shows us how Jesus did the exact same thing! He endured the cross, for the joy set before Him.

That just gives you a glimpse of the depth of this verse and the depth of Jesus. I hope y’all want to join me on this journey of pursuing Him with my whole heart. There are ups and downs. I have failed, and you will too. But God is bigger than our failures. Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

We just need to fix our eyes on Him.

Do you desire to pursue Jesus with your whole heart? Feel free to share your journey in the comments!