Prayer Call: Check Your DMs

Good Morning, BFB!

This morning, I want to share something we’re going to be leaning into over the next few weeks. We’ll be walking through a series I'm calling Check Your DMs. Before I go any further, let me pause and explain what that means, especially for those who don’t spend much time on social media.

A DM is a direct message. It isn’t public. It isn’t posted for everyone to see. It’s personal, intentional, and sent directly to you. When someone sends you a DM or is "in your DMs" they’re saying, “This isn’t for everybody. This is for you.”

That language actually gives us a helpful way to think about many of the letters or epistles in the New Testament. The epistles weren’t written as abstract theology or general encouragement. They were personal messages sent to real people in real moments doing real life, often during seasons of pressure, uncertainty, and fatigue. These letters show us not only what faith believes, but how faith is lived when life gets heavy.

That’s why I'm calling this season Check Your DMs.

Because sometimes God isn’t making a public announcement. Sometimes God is sending a personal word just for you and just for me. God has a way of sliding into your DMs, and the question is are you going to read it?

That DM today comes from Hebrews 12:1, which says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

To be clear, we don’t know definitively who wrote the book of Hebrews. Some have suggested Paul. Others point to Barnabas. Some have even proposed Priscilla. While the author remains unnamed, what is clear is who this letter was written to.

Hebrews was written to believers, Christians who still trusted God, still believed, and still wanted to keep going. They hadn’t quit the race. They hadn’t walked away from faith. They were simply tired. Life had become heavy, and the pressure of their moment was starting to wear them down. And instead of telling them to stop running, Scripture invites them to run lighter.

That’s where many people find themselves today. They still believe, but they are tired. They are still coming to church, but they’re frustrated. They are still singing and serving, but they are overloaded.

For many, anxiety has risen as the weight of uncertainty, division, and instability has pressed in on us right where we live in these yet-to-be United States of America. The times are heavy, and the pressure is real.

That’s why these letters matter. That’s why we read these DMs, even though they weren’t written to us. What the first readers were facing then are many of the same realities we are navigating now. Different context. Same human experience. Same God. And the message remains just as personal, just as timely, and just as necessary today

What stands out in this verse is the distinction it makes between sin and weight. Sin entangles, but weight slows. That means not everything holding us back is sinful. Some things aren’t wrong at all...they’re just heavy. Pressure can be heavy. Expectations we’ve quietly carried can be heavy. Stress we’ve learned to normalize can be heavy. Responsibilities we’ve taken on without help can be heavy. These things don’t necessarily pull us off the track, but over time they drain our strength and make the race harder than it needs to be.

What’s striking is that God’s message here isn’t, “Try harder,” or “Push through.” The invitation is to lay something down. Sometimes the most faithful response isn’t repentance...it’s release. It’s recognizing that we’ve been carrying things God never asked us to hold alone.

Hebrews also reminds us that God cares about how we run, not just that we keep running. Endurance in Scripture is never about unnecessary suffering. God is not impressed by how much we can carry or how long we can survive under weight. He is concerned with whether we are running with freedom, trust, and attentiveness. Some of us are still moving forward, but we’re doing it exhausted. Still committed, but overloaded. Still faithful, but worn thin. And this passage gently calls us to examine whether our faith has become more about survival than trust.

To “check your DMs” spiritually is to pause long enough to ask what God is personally saying to you right now. It’s allowing space to consider what weight has made this season heavier than it needs to be. It’s being honest about what you’ve been carrying that God may be inviting you to release. Hebrews speaks to believers who still want to run, but need help running lighter.

As we move through this week, let this word stay with you. Pay attention to what feels heavy. Notice what has quietly slowed your pace. Listen for what God may be asking you to lay aside. This isn’t a week to push harder. It’s a week to move wiser. A week to choose release over resistance, trust over control, and freedom over fatigue.

So slow down.
Pay attention.
And check your DMs.

I love you, and there ain’t nothing you can do about it.
FLC