Hear the cheers
Published 9:16 pm Thursday, November 5, 2026
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“I’m done.” “I’m finished.” These are words we hear from people who are tired, whose hopes have worn down, or who can no longer see the finish line of the race they are running.
The congregation receiving the letter to the Hebrews knew that weariness. These Jewish Christians had endured hardship. Their faith was tested, and some were tempted to give up—not because they had stopped believing, but because continuing had become difficult.
I have heard that same weariness from people close to being done with church. I remember a choir member laying her robe on my desk and saying, “I’m done singing in the choir. Thank you for the opportunity, but I’m finished.”
“Why?” I asked.
“No one cares,” she answered. “If I sing, great. If I don’t, great. It doesn’t make a difference. No one cares whether I’m here.”
I assured her that wasn’t true. “Oh, good,” she replied. “Can you give me some names, then? Who cares?”
Men have also told me, “I’m done with church. I’m just another pledge, another warm body you count in the attendance numbers. No one cares whether I’m here.”
The Disciples preacher Fred Craddock told his congregation stories like these and then asked a question that has stayed with me: “Can I give them your name?”
Can I give them your name, church? Can I tell someone who is weary that you care? Can I tell them you will walk beside them and cheer them on? Can I give them your name as one of the people in the great cloud of witnesses?
That is one way to understand the letter to the Hebrews. It is a word from a fellow traveler in faith, someone who refuses to let a struggling congregation believe that nobody cares. The letter calls them to persevere, hold on, and encourage one another. Don’t stop short of the finish line. Keep going. We are rooting for you.
The writer reminds them they are not running alone. They are surrounded by people who moved forward without seeing how the journey would end.
Remember Noah, who built the ark and endured the rain without knowing how the story would end. He moved forward by faith.
Remember Abraham. God promised him descendants as numerous as the stars, yet he grew old without seeing that promise fulfilled. He kept trusting. Today, generations later, we sing about Father Abraham and his many sons.
Remember Joseph, betrayed by his brothers and imprisoned unjustly. He could not see where his story was headed, but he kept going. Remember Moses, standing between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea. The way forward seemed impossible, yet by faith he led the Israelites through the waters to freedom.
These are the heroes of faith whose stories cheer us on. And the cloud of witnesses includes people closer to home: mothers and fathers, siblings, friends, mentors, and faithful church members whose lives have shown us what it means to keep trusting God.
Some of us may be ready to stop running. We are tired, discouraged, or overwhelmed by the road ahead. We cannot see the finish line. Hear the encouragement of Hebrews—and imagine that great crowd of witnesses, here in this sanctuary and in the glory of heaven, cheering you on: Keep running.
As you run, remember this is not a race you began, and it is not yours to finish by your own strength. The Lord, the Alpha and the Omega, is the beginning and the end. God has begun this work and will bring it to completion.
Our part is to keep running with our eyes fixed on Jesus, our ears tuned to the cheers of those who have gone before us, and our faith guiding each step.
