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…. Philippians 3:13-14

When one year turns over into another, we tend to reflect. Most of us sense or are even embroiled in global unrest, fear, and uncertainty. Many of the goals we’d hoped to reach remain unmet. We’re not the first people to feel this way! The Apostle Paul lived in the thick of trials and tribulations of his own era. His practice was to always train his focus on following and being together with Jesus. He wrote, “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….” (Philippians 3:13-14).

When Paul spoke of forgetting the past, he wasn’t referring to amnesia. He simply believed that the heartbreaks, setbacks, and disappointments we’ve faced up until this very hour do not control our momentum for tomorrow. This is an especially powerful concept when we feel crushed by powers and circumstances beyond our control.

Our hope in pressing onward to the goal God calls us to is this: sin and sorrow were not present in God’s original design, so that means we can imagine a future where we are once again free from them. Picture in your mind right now something that pained you from the last year. Now ask yourself, “was there a time before that pain?” I think the answer is yes. So, take heart as you align your goals with God’s, tomorrow and for next year. The goodness He has in store is indeed a prize to grasp!

 

Resource reading: Philippians 3:1-21