Pressing On!

^{Philippians 3:12-14}

¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Forgetting what is behind! How is this possible? yet we are told we have to forget in order to go on. If you have been raised on a farm, then this will be familiar to you. My dad had two mules, Bell and John, and they were used to plow the garden. I remember when he got behind that plow, and yelled “giddy up”, away they went. Up one row and back, moving at a pretty good pace. There wasn’t time to look back to see how straight the rows were. (Although he was pretty good at keeping them straight.) If you was going to get anything done, you just kept going, and with that mule, being alert was a key factor. This illustration reminds me of how we press on each day, getting up, looking straight ahead, and being focused, We know at the end of that row, we will have done the will of our Father. Will we ever be perfect? No, but we still press on, forgetting those rows that are not exactly straight. We can’t go back and fix them, there isn’t time. If we will but remember our goal is heaven, and keep our eyes on Jesus, we will attain what He has meant for us. That mule at the end of the day gets fed, fresh water, and rubbed down, then he will rest. I am not saying we are like mules, but they are pretty focused, and we should be to. The same is true for us, we will have peace and we can rest to, knowing that Jesus is in control of our lives.

Pressing On!

Philippians 3:12-14 (New Living Translation)
(Pressing toward the Goal) 12." I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14. I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."

I heard a young woman say "well, I have messed up again". She had made some decisions that she regretted, and was very troubled. My heart immediately went out to her as I tried to reassure her that everyone "messes up", and it happens way to often to all of us. The key was to ask God each day to help us make the right choices! As you read the scripture above, we are told we never reach that perfect place, that we must stay focused and keep pressing on. The only way we will attain this is to "forget the past". When we ask God to forgive us, he not only forgives, but He forgets. It is so hard for us to grasp this truth, because we won't forgive ourselves. Are there consequences to our wrong decisions? Of course there is! but we learn from them and this is part of the "pressing on". Don't dwell on the past! Realize that you are forgiven and move on. Restoration seems to be the biggest job our Lord has with us, and he is so gracious and merciful. He loves us so much, and I think that is also very hard for us to understand. My prayer for this young woman, myself and everyone who reads this is accept forgiveness, and press on. We are not alone, He will be with us every step of this journey! One of these days we will see Jesus, and it will be worth it all.