“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 3-13-14).”
Being a Christian is hard, but God is with us through the journey. Sometimes people may think that everything is all rosy when you come to Christ, but that is not the case. Many people are being persecuted just because of their faith in Christ. In the midst of all this, we must keep pressing forward to the prize that is ahead of us.
God has admonished us in His word that we will go through trials and tribulations in this world, but we should be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. Paul stated in the book of Acts that we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.
The Apostle Paul compares a runner who focuses on the goal to Philippians 3. The Apostle Paul stated his goal as “the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” In verse 13, Paul has made up his mind to focus on moving forward and not to look at the past. When we read the above scripture, we can deduce that the Apostle Paul has one clear goal: to ultimately be in heaven with God.
I will admonish each of us to let go of the past mistakes and failures to have one goal in mind, and that is fulfilling our assignment and being in heaven with God. Apostle Paul looks forward to his faithful service to God in his scriptural writings. We should all strive to emulate him. We should do things in the house of God without grumbling and murmuring because whatever we do faithfully will be rewarded.
Paul stated in 1Corinthians 15:58 that our labor in the Lord would not be in vain. Apostle Paul’s writing and teaching were not to focus on the past but to continue pursuing God and his purpose for us, and I believe this can be our passion.