Pressing On

Pressing On
by Jennifer Mahone

Photo by Colin Rex on Unsplash

“Not 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.
Brothers, 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.
I press on toward the goal to win the prize
for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:12-14

We are certainly not perfect human beings. I’m sure we’ve all made some wrong turns down the road. We get lost, find our way, make another wrong turn, think we’ve found the way out again, and finally realize we are driving in circles. To make matters worse, we are too embarrassed or proud to ask for directions. So we continue on our wrong path, seeking the right one, with no one to help us along the way, all because we felt we could arrive on our own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5 says “Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding.”

Sounds easy enough, huh? And yet, there are so many of us who think we have it all together, but deep down inside we are miserable and seeking for peace. I shared in a previous post last week something I had heard in church that immediately made me evaluate my own life and the way I viewed each and every day. The words from the pulpit where, ” We must be faithful with where we are so God can move us to where He wants us to be.” The verdict was in…and I stood guilty of becoming impatient with where I am in life.

It’s so easy to get caught up in wanting to be at the finish line already. We want to skip the running part and just somehow arrive at our destiny. There’s the excitement of wanting to see all that God has planned for us, but we can’t become so eager to move forward when our current task is not yet completed. We will make it to the finish line at some point, but guess what? After we finish the race…there’s another race already lined up and the training begins all over again.

I went for a jog this morning. I love those moments because it’s just me and God. I have my worship music set and as I run I find that it’s in these moments that I can hear God the loudest. My heart pounds, not just because I’m out of breath (lol) but also because I can feel him strengthening me all over again and rebuilding endurance that I have lost in the time away from him. The more I run, the more I get tired and I just feel like giving up, but I can hear Him saying “Don’t give up, don’t give in, keep pressing on, keep going, you’re almost home.” And my head immediately looks straight forward towards my goal; my home, and before I know it, I’m there! What an amazing moment to know that God encouraged me all the way. He wants us to finish! He wants us to fulfill our purpose! And most of all He wants to run the race with us!

We all have a race to run; a purpose to complete, but will we get up and prepare for that race? Going back to the word I heard in church on Sunday. I know God has great places He wants us to be and experience, and the one we are in now is one of those, but we can not move on to the next race until we have reached our current finish line. We must be faithful with where we are now. We must get up everyday ready to complete the thing God has put us in this place to complete. Who out there needs to be encouraged? Who in our life needs to be loved with the love of God? Who do we still need to bless? And where can we go to be a blessing? When we can find joy in doing great things for God and for others, we change lives and God can then move us to where He wants us to be.

Don’t give up on your purpose! Don’t give up on the dreams that God has given you! I said it at the beginning and I’ll say it again, “We are not perfect human beings,” we make mistakes and we may take that wrong turn from time to time, but if we learn to stop and ask God for directions, He will show us the way back to the track and give us the endurance to complete the race.

I will have to get up tomorrow and prepare to run all over again, but it remains a constant reminder to me of the purpose I have been placed here to do, and that is to be an encouragement to you of how much God loves you and wants lead you to that great finish line; the prize that He has for you.

I love how the message bible reads, it says it like this:

“I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: by no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beakoning us onward–to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.” Philippians 3:12-14

Keep your eye on the goal, be faithful with where you are, don’t look back, but look toward the future and walk in His ways…not our own. We are Pressing On and on the right track.

Be Blessed
Jennifer