“All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.” (Hebrews 12:11-13 NASB1995)

Hebrews 12 begins with Paul (the presumed writer) addressing those who professed faith in Jesus Christ. And he was exhorting them to lay aside every encumbrance (hindrance) and the sin which so easily entangles, and to run with endurance the race set before them (the spiritual race God has for us to run), fixing their eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of their faith. Basically he was saying that they needed to put off everything in their lives hindering their walks of faith, including all sin, so they could live for God.

And then he moved on to the subject of the necessary discipline of God in our lives so that we can walk worthy of God in surrender to our Lord in holiness and righteousness, and in obedience to his commands. And this discipline can be enacted in our lives in many different ways – through trials and tribulations to test our faith, through hardships and persecutions, through times of need, or in times of sorrow or pain and suffering. For when we face difficulties, if we respond correctly, they help us to mature in Christ.

Then, he gave another exhortation, which fits with his initial exhortation for them to lay aside everything hindering their walks of obedience to the Lord, and to forsake all sin, but especially the kind of sin that easily entangles (resulting in addiction to sin). They were to give it all up so that they might walk in obedience to the Lord on the path that our Lord has for all of us to go. But this message is for us today, too. We who believe in Jesus are to put sin to death in our lives so we can walk the path God has for us.

On the plus side of this, we are to strengthen our hands that are weak. And I always see hands in relation to our works, our deeds. If our works are lacking in faithfulness to God and in purity of devotion to our Lord, and if sin is what is being produced, instead of righteousness, then we need to strengthen what is good and is of God in our lives, and get rid of what is bringing us down (if that is taking place). And knees have to do with surrender of our lives to God, which also needs to be brought to maturity.

And then we need to make straight (righteous, godly, morally pure) paths (walks, lifestyles) for our feet, representing our walks of faith in Jesus as Lord of our lives. For this is the will of God for our lives. For if we do not, and we get slack, and we don’t remain diligent about living holy lives, pleasing to God, Satan will have a window into our minds wide open to tempt us to return to our sinful ways. But Jesus died and rose again to free us from our addiction to sin so we will now serve God in obedience to his commands.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:1-26; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Open My Heart

An Original Work / July 2, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“Be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil” (Rm. 16:19b).

Open my heart. Let Your truth in.
Make of me a servant, pure within;
Sing of Your praise all of my days.
Let Your Spirit transform all my ways.
Jesus Christ died on a cross to
Save me from my sin.
“Repent of sin. Be cleansed within.
Obey all of His commands today.”

“Why do you doubt? Why do you fear?
Jesus Christ will wipe away your tears.
He cares for you. He feels your pain.
Die to sin, and life with Him you’ll gain.
Follow Him where’er He leads you.
Talk with Him each day.
Then you will know what He has planned
For your life before your world began.”

“Come unto Me, weary in heart.
Let My love and grace to you impart.
Believe in Me. Trust in My care.
Take your burdens to the Lord in prayer.
He will meet all of your needs,
And give you peace within.
Rejoice in Him! Tell of His love.
He will give you comfort from above.”

Make Straight Paths for Your Walk
An Original Work / March 25, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love