MAY 17, 2026

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the authora and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. - Hebrews 12:1-3

2 KINGS 18-19

14Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

17“It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 19Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”(19:14-19)

JOHN 6:22-44

35Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

JOURNAL 

There is something deeply comforting in the thought from Hebrews that we are “surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.” Not witnesses sitting in condemnation, waiting for us to fail, but witnesses the way family leans forward in the stands at a game, or friends hold their breath as someone they love steps into a defining moment. They are invested. They care. They know the struggle. They remember their own fear, weakness, triumphs, and failures. And now somehow, in the mystery of God, they cheer us on.

Hezekiah spreads the terrifying letter before the Lord, fully aware of his weakness and inability to control what is happening around him. Jesus walks steadily toward the cross, not seeking his own will but surrendering to the Father’s. Again and again scripture reminds us that God moves through what appears weak, obscure, foolish, or impossible. An overlooked king prays and an empire falls overnight. A carpenter from Nazareth becomes the Savior of the world. A brutal cross becomes the most recognized symbol in human history.

And maybe that is part of the beauty of today itself.

The heroes of faith are not calling me to perform perfectly. They are not withdrawing love every time I stumble. They are watching the same way people who deeply love you watch you step onto the field. They want to see you live fully. They want to see you trust God in the middle of uncertainty. They know what courage costs. Abraham knows. Moses knows. David knows. Paul knows. Peter knows. They know what it feels like to doubt, to fear, to fail, and still keep walking.

Somehow that changes the ordinary moments of my life. This morning matters. This conversation matters. The way I handle disappointment matters. The way I love people matters. The way I respond to fear matters. Not because my worth hangs in the balance, but because my life is part of a much larger story God has been telling from the beginning.

God did not create me to imitate someone else’s role in the kingdom. He created me as me. My personality, my wounds, my gifts, my experiences, even my weaknesses are somehow woven into His purpose. To shrink back from that calling is not humility. It is forgetting that God knew exactly what He was doing when He formed me.

Paul pleaded for his thorn to be removed, but instead God answered with something greater: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Maybe the cloud of witnesses understands that better now than ever before. Maybe they are not most inspired when I appear strong, but when I continue trusting God while weak.

Today I stand on holy ground, not because I have everything figured out, but because God is with me. Heaven is not silent toward my life. Love surrounds me. Grace sustains me. And somewhere beyond what I can fully understand, the faithful are cheering me onward to keep running my race.

 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

2 CORINTHIANS 12:8-9