Recently in church, Philippians 3:12 got brought up. I'm sure this is a verse I have heard before. I am sure I have read it at some point in my life, but when it was brought up in church I was able to actually appreciate the depth of this verse and I looked into its context.
Philippians 3:12-14 says, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, 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."
Verse 12 was so powerful to me because it discusses having not obtained the knowledge, righteousness, and perfection of Jesus. Verse 13 and 14 were even more so because it discusses what you can choose to do even though you have fallen short. It is our nature to "fall short of the glory of God." However, it isn't our nature to give up and not continue to press on.
We can choose to give up and stop pursuing a deeper relationship with Christ, or we can choose to press on and discover and know him deeper. The author of Philippians, Paul recognized his shortcomings, but he pressed on and focused on what was ahead of him.
Life challenges us with difficult decisions and tougher situations. We must press on. In my own life, I have made situations harder on myself or I have had to press on through a situation that I would have rather not been in. God sets these challenges before us and we draw nearer to him as a result.
The best part of seeking God and recognizing our weaknesses is overcoming them.
Triumph comes from our struggles. God wants us to pursue him, he wants to bless us and give us the "prize for which God has called us heavenward." He wants nothing more than for us to succeed. However, this requires focusing on the future, forgetting the past and pressing on.
God has been blessing me greatly lately, making it fairly easy to continue on in this journey. Rough spells come, though; they happen. In these rough moments, it makes it more difficult to press on, though. It is a little more challenging when nothing is going your way. However, I have made a decision.
Whether it is a good situation or bad, I have not reached the perfection only found in Christ. Therefore, I choose to forget the past, focus on the present, and pursue Christ.
I press on.
