The Word “No” Is Important for Your Spiritual Journey

[The Word “No” Is Important for Your Spiritual Journey]( Current Teaching Series [The Invisible War]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [The Word “No” Is Important for Your Spiritual Journey]( By Rick Warren — 02/10/2024 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= “Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.” 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 that marathon with a barbell in your hands. People often 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, but if it’s dragging a hundred lifeboats alongside it, it will slow it down. Plug a battery into one light bulb, and it’ll go a long way. Plug it into 15, and it drains much more 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. Sometimes doing good keeps us from doing the 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. What is a weight in your life? 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. It’s time for you to “strip off every weight” that’s slowing you down. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - What are some of the good things you’re doing that might be keeping you from the best God has for you? - What weights does society try to convince you are good, even though they distract you from God’s plan for your life? - What kind of weights might be slowing you down? How can you cast them off to focus on the race God has set before you? The post [The Word “No” Is Important for Your Spiritual Journey]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= [Get The Invisible War Study Kit when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( Every morning, we awake to a spiritual war against temptation. But the great news is God provides powerful defenses so we can fight and win this critical battle. Pastor Rick wants to help you defend against Satan’s tactics with his dynamic Bible study called, The Invisible War: Winning the Battle of Temptation. This 7-session video* plus workbook study will equip you to win the battle between good and evil! *Video available in DVD or streaming formats. [GIVE NOW]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 8 full-length message from Pastor Rick's series The Invisible War. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: When You Feel Like Giving Up Message 2: Winning the Battle Inside Me Message 3: Set Free from Me Message 4: Making the Hard Changes in Me Message 5: Why is Life in This World So Hard? Message 6: Being Faithful in A Faithless World Message 7: When Your World Falls Apart Message 8: Never Fight Your Battles Undressed [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( Rick Warren is the founding pastor of [Saddleback Church]( one of America’s largest and most influential churches. Pastor Rick is the author of the New York Times bestseller [The Purpose Driven Life](. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. Pastor Rick created [The PEACE Plan]( to address the five global giants—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. His Daily Hope broadcast and daily devotionals are offered around the world. You can listen to the broadcast or sign up for the free devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2024 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, PO Box 80448, Rancho Santa Margarita, California 92688, United States