Barbra Gentry-Pugh

Let It Go! Release the Weight

August 9, 2026

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

Crossing the Ambassador Bridge during the 2011 Detroit Free Press Marathon was one of the hardest physical challenges I had ever faced. My friend Sherrie Montgomery and I had committed ourselves to training faithfully and finishing the race. My daughter, Portia, who had completed numerous marathons, wisely encouraged me to include hills and inclines in my training because she knew what was ahead. We thought we’d be fine. Until we reached the bridge.” The incline seemed to go on forever. Every step required more effort than the one before it. My breathing became heavier. My legs began to ache and felt heavy. There were moments I honestly wondered if I would make it to the top.

Looking back, I realized something profound: the bridge didn’t become heavier; I simply became more aware of the weight I was carrying. Isn’t that what happens spiritually? Life has a way of bringing each of us to an Ambassador Bridge, a season when the incline becomes steeper and what we have been carrying suddenly feels heavier.

♦ grief feels heavier

♦ disappointment feels heavier

♦ regret feels heavier

♦ unforgiveness feels heavier

♦ fear feels heavier

Not necessarily because the burden suddenly appeared, but because the climb exposed what we had been carrying all along. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “throw off everything that hinders.” The Scripture does not tell us to carry the weight better. It tells us to lay it aside. The difference is sometimes we pray, “Lord, give me strength to carry this,” when perhaps God is lovingly saying: “My child, I never asked you to carry it.”

One of our greatest spiritual misunderstandings is believing that strength always means carrying more. But Kingdom strength is often demonstrated by having the wisdom, faith, and courage to release what God never intended us to carry.

Crossing the Ambassador Bridge taught me something I have never forgotten. It taught me that some races are not finished because we become strong enough to carry everything; sometimes we finish because we finally learn what we were never meant to carry.

Spiritually, some of us are exhausted not because God has given us too much, but because we continue carrying weights He has already invited us to release. Perhaps that’s why Hebrews 12 doesn’t simply tell us to run; first, it tells us, “Lay aside every weight.” Then it tells us to “Run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” And finally: “Fixing our eyes on Jesus,” then there is a divine order to release, run, and refocus.

We release what hinders us, we run the race God has assigned us, and we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus while doing it. We cannot freely run the race God has marked out for us while insisting on carrying burdens He never intended us to bear. So perhaps the question today isn’t simply: “How tired am I, Perhaps the better question is, “What weight is keeping me from running freely?”

Approval can become a weight.

Fear can become a weight.

Shame can become a weight.

Regret can become a weight.

Comparison can become a weight.

Unforgiveness can become a weight.

Bitterness can become a weight.

Yesterday can become a weight.

And every unnecessary weight consumes energy that could be invested in today’s assignment.

Everyone Has an Ambassador Bridge! I have come to believe that every God-ordained assignment has an Ambassador Bridge, a place where the climb becomes steep, the weight feels heavy, and quitting seems easier than continuing. But those who trust God discover that the bridge is not there to stop them. Sometimes God uses the bridge to strengthen them for what lies ahead.

God often calls us to cross bridges we never would have chosen so He can take us to places we never could have reached on our own.

During that race, we literally crossed the Ambassador Bridge from the United States into Canada. We left one side and entered another. Again, crossing requires leaving one place to enter another, and sometimes we cannot fully enter what God has ahead while insisting on carrying everything from the place He is calling us to leave behind.

HEART CHECK: Ask yourself: What weight have I been carrying that God is asking me to release? Is there a burden I have carried so long that I have begun to believe it belongs to me? Am I spending more energy carrying the weight than running the race? And perhaps the most important question: What could God do through me if I finally released what has been weighing me down?

HEART CHALLENGE: This week, identify one weight that is hindering your race. Name it, write it down, pray specifically about it, then surrender it to God. Whenever you feel yourself picking it back up, remind yourself: “God did not ask me to carry this. I choose to release it, fix my eyes on Jesus, and keep running my race.”

Don’t try to cross tomorrow’s bridge today. Take the next faithful step God has placed before you.

🩺STANDING ORDERS FROM THE MASTER PHYSICIAN!

Lay aside every weight. Hebrews 12:1
Refuse to keep carrying what hinders your spiritual progress.
Fix your eyes on Jesus. Hebrews 12:2
When the climb becomes difficult, shift your focus from the weight to the One who sustains you.
Give God your burdens. Psalm 55:22
Surrender what is too heavy for you rather than allowing it to consume your strength.
Receive Christ’s rest. Matthew 11:28
Stop confusing exhaustion with faithfulness. Jesus invites the burdened to come to Him.
Run with perseverance. Hebrews 12:1
A difficult bridge does not mean you are on the wrong course. Keep moving.
Finish your assignment. Acts 20:24
Remember why you are releasing the weight: there is still a race to run and an assignment to finish.

LET’S PRAY: Father God, thank You for Your authoritative, inerrant, and inspired Word that gives us clear instructions on how we can finish the race. Thank You for reminding us that we were never created to carry every burden that life places upon us. Forgive us for holding onto weights You have already invited us to release. Today, we surrender fear, regret, disappointment, unforgiveness, bitterness, shame, grief, and every weight that has hindered us from running freely. Father, when the bridge becomes steep and we feel as though we cannot take another step, remind us that we are not crossing alone. Give us the strength for the climb, grace for the journey, and faith for what we cannot yet see. Father, help us to lay aside every weight, fix our eyes on You, Father, and run with perseverance the race You have marked out for us. Heal our hearts, restore our hope, release us into purpose. And when we are tempted to pick up yesterday’s burdens again, remind us: we don’t have to carry what You have called us to release. Father, we don’t want merely to make it through the race. Father, we want to faithfully finish the assignment You have entrusted to us and use our lives to tell others about the wonderful grace of God. So, we will keep running, we will keep trusting, we will keep crossing the bridges You place before us, and by Your grace, we will finish the race, in the Precious, Powerful, and Preeminent Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.