Looking To The Future! You Can DO IT!

Philippians 3:12-15
“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. “

I have heard this scripture thrown around in many teachings and devotions. I have personally used this verse to try and give hope to people who have difficult past experiences with the goal of them replacing the sadness I see with a smile of joy. However, there is a portion of this scripture that is as sobering as a bucket of cold water on a hot day. When Paul is writing to the Philippian church he is not trying to gloss over their lives with a coat of paint and trying to brain wash them into thinking that the damage in their lives never happened. Paul is reaching deep down into the hearts of his audience and challenging them to press through their past, focus on the future, and withstand the pain that it takes to strain toward what is ahead.

About a year and a half ago I had the opportunity to run in a half marathon. The training was a bit gruesome and took a lot of time, but, nothing compared to the strain that was on my body for the last 4 miles of the race. For the first 9 miles I truly felt invincible. I was passing people and keeping a pace that I thought for sure would break world records. OK, not really! But I was going faster than I ever practiced. I remember thinking at the 7 mile marker, “If this is going to be this easy than I will do the full marathon next time. “ It was not 20 minutes later that I was pleading with my God to stop the pain, help me breath and let me be finished. It was not until I hit that threshold that I began understanding what it means to strain forward. Every step I took was painful and all I wanted to do was disappear or take some really strong pain relievers.

My muscles were beginning to cramp, my joints were screaming at me and my poor feet felt like they lost a slapping match with the pavement. It was time to stop thinking about the finish line and focus on taking each step that was in front of me. All I wanted to do was to stop! No more steps, no more straining!

I am not saying that the rest of our days have to be as painful as the last 4 miles of my half marathon race, however, there are times that this journey will bring pain. There are times that running after what God has for our future and forgetting about things in our past is arduous and painstaking. It is also worth it!

If you have fallen and are trying to get back up… Do it! If you are running forward and the past seems to be haunting your next step… look to your Creator and He will give the strength to go forward! Don’t give up! Don’t give up! You can do it! Just a little farther! When I think of this scripture I see it cheering me forward and telling me that God has great plans… Don’t give up!