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. - Philippians 3:13–14 NIV
Our move was months away, and, once again, the prospect of moving to another state and leaving behind family and everything I’d ever known overcame me. Like a roller coaster, my emotions rose one moment and plummeted in the next breath. I have great memories I will always cherish, yet as I pondered those things, I realized there were some memories I had to leave behind to grow.
The apostle Paul was no stranger to adversity and pain, yet he handled these experiences gracefully. He had determined to fulfill God’s will, and doing so was the objective of his life. Paul was especially adept at doing the essential one thing. He had mastered forgetting and fixed his eyes on Christ. I, too, want to learn to leave the past in the past.
Instead, I often find myself replaying incidents that bore a wound in my heart. Rather than forget, I pursue lesser things and occupy my days with thoughts that resolve little. If only I had said this or done that instead.
God calls us to forget our past mistakes and sins. We cannot undo certain things, and although God can and does redeem all things, there are times no resolution is realized. Our challenge is to release the past and strain toward what lies ahead.
I want to emulate Paul and model my perspective after his. God has called us onward and heavenward. He has worthier pursuits for us. Let’s press on toward the prize. God is our exceedingly great reward.
How can you keep from pursuing the lesser things?
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