Some days I feel like I make great progress and some days it seems that the best I can do is to just hold my ground. How about you? One thing that living longer has taught me is to evaluate progress, not in days but in years! It’s like that diet we start with the goal of losing 10 pounds. That first week we are so careful about the calories, avoid those snacks, and limit the portions. When we step on the scale and realize that we have only lost a couple of pounds, our determination wavers. Or, is that just me?
I remember being 30 years of age and counseled by an older man to start a retirement account. At the time it was a struggle to find enough money to make the car payment and clothe our kids! His advice was to make a regular contribution of the same amount every pay period, increasing it as income grew. Those first contributions were laughably small but we did it. Four decades later I look at an account that can help sustain me because of regular deposits and the miracle of compounding interest. It is there for this season of my life! That advice pointed me in the right direction.
Are you moving in the right
direction spiritually? These words of St. Paul give me great hope for they
reveal that even that giant of faith knew that his life was a work in progress.
"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the
fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and
so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. 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 3:10-14, NIV)
His lofty goal, a great one for all of us, was to ‘know Christ’ identifying with Him in suffering and eventually gaining eternal life through God’s grace. His life was aimed toward eternity for he knew, as we should, that while we may enjoy blessings today, though we may endure seasons of terrible loss or suffering, the ultimate hope is God’s gift of an eternal home. Paul certainly did not retreat from engagement with life here in this world, hoping to just ‘hang on’ until his arrival in heaven. He was faithful in service, willing to work for the Lord, focused on doing God’s will.
But, he also is honest in his admission: “not that I have already attained all this or have been made perfect.” He went through things for which he had no explanation. He failed to achieve what he desired sometimes. In Romans 7 he tells us that he experienced real spiritual struggles. "It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge." (Romans 7:21-23, The Message) In spite of being pointed in the right direction, there are detours and distractions that derail his progress.
So, does he quit? Not at all. He says twice “I PRESS ON.” He leans into hope, lets go of regret, and refocuses on God’s goals! As we begin a new week let’s get our head and heart pointed in the right direction, praying to do God’s work, living lovingly, hopefully, joyful, at peace. We trip up, have a bad day, lose sight of that goal, let’s get up and ‘press on.’ This life we live is not a sprint to the finish line, it is a ‘long obedience in the same direction.’
Spend a few moments soaking your mind in this word from the Word, then press on! "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven." (Hebrews 12:1-2, NLT)
(Video of this blog at this link)
____________________
When the valley is deep
When the mountain is steep
When the body is weary
When we stumble and fall
When the choices are hard
When we're battered and scarred
When we've spent our resources
When we've given our all
In Jesus' name we press on
In Jesus' name we press on
Dear Lord with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on
Dan Burgess
© 1983 Good Life Publications, Inc.
CCLI License # 810055
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