Beginnings, Continued
“No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ did for us.” Philippians 3:13,14 (TLB)
We look to Paul to be an example for us, and we may believe that Paul “had it all together.” According to the Scripture above, Paul rejects that idea by saying that “I am not all I should be….” In just a few words, Paul tells us of one of the major things he had to do if he were to serve the Lord as he was asked to do: “Forgetting the past…,” and he had quite the past to forget. He sought, imprisoned, and had killed those who followed Jesus. Who of us has a past like that to forget? With the help of Jesus through His teaching that Paul received personally, he was able to do that. (See Galatians 1:16-18.) Having done so, he can look forward and move forward to the work assigned to him by God, spreading the gospel to the Gentiles—us. We need to be grateful that Paul was able to do that, for this made salvation available to us.
Paul says that he is “…bringing all my energies…” and straining to “…reach the end of the race…” to move forward in his life to complete the task given to him by Jesus. That’s pretty focused effort. Shouldn’t we emulate that effort? We are running this race because that is what God has called us to do. I may not run the race as well as Paul did, but I can bring all my energies to bear.
In Isaiah 43:18,19, God says through the prophet, Isaiah, the same message He gave to Paul. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (NIV) God’s message in both cases is “I’m done with the past, and you need to get on board with what is happening now.” In Isaiah, He gives an encouraging statement: “a way in the wilderness,” and “streams in the wasteland.” The future shows growth even in the difficult and arid ways of the past. The way in the wilderness gets us to the place where the flowers will be blooming and the fruit trees will be blossoming by the streams in the former wasteland.
In Proverbs 3:5,6, we are told, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” There’s nothing secret about it. If you want to prosper, trust God and submit to Him. Look for His plan, trust Him, and strain forward to accomplish what He has for us to do. Then we will be successful and prosperous and be living in harmony with our Lord. Isn’t that what is best for us, the most satisfying for us? Let’s do it!
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