If You Want to Grow, Sometimes You Have to Say ‘No’

by Rick Warren — June 20, 2019

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT).

The most important word to remember for your spiritual journey may be a surprising one: “no.”

Your faith journey is a long one. Too many people start off well in their spiritual journey but putter out before the end. God wants you to go the distance.  

You’ve got a marathon ahead of you, and you can’t run the marathon with a barbell in your hands. Often people quit their faith journey early because everything they’re carrying wears them out.

We need to de-clutter.

A cruise liner can get pretty fast in the middle of the water.  If you add a hundred lifeboats to it, it’ll slow down.

Plug a battery into one lightbulb, and it’ll go a long way. Plug it into 15, and it drains quickly. Plug it into 100, and it’ll drain even more quickly.

That’s what happens to us when we try to do too much. We need to learn to say “no” to some things that are good because they keep us from doing our best.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us strip off every weight that slows us down” (NLT).

Weights aren’t bad. They’re not sinful. They’re just unnecessary. It could be a job, a relationship, or a hobby. It’s something that slows you down from what God wants from your life. And it’s not worth it.

Talk It Over

  • What are the weights that are slowing you down? What are the good things you're doing that might keep you from the best God has for you?
  • Why do you think we feel so pressured to say “yes” to everything that comes our way?
  • Try saying “no” to one thing this week that you would normally agree to. What difference does it make?

Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.